© Mark Ollig
US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King signed the Ogdensburg Agreement, a mutual defense pact, Aug. 17, 1940.
This agreement laid the groundwork for a continental security plan, ultimately leading to the establishment of the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) May 12, 1958.
Formed amid escalating Cold War tensions, NORAD’s primary mission was to monitor and defend North American airspace against potential threats from the Soviet Union.
The initial headquarters for NORAD was Ent Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, CO, with its future headquarters inside a mountain.
Excavation within Cheyenne Mountain, southwest of Colorado Springs, to house the NORAD Combat Operations Center began May 18, 1961, and involved removing 693,000 tons of granite.
The NORAD Combat Operations Center would be located approximately 2,000 feet beneath the surface within the Cheyenne Mountain Complex (CMC), nestled deep within the granite of Cheyenne Mountain.
This strategic location and the complex’s fortified construction were designed to protect against a range of threats, including nuclear blasts, electromagnetic pulses, and biological attacks.
The CMC’s Faraday cage design protects its electronic systems from electromagnetic pulses (EMP) caused by high-altitude nuclear detonations.
Two enormous blast doors, each weighing 25 tons and measuring 3.5 feet thick, secure the main tunnel entrance to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex.
The main tunnel blast doors, constructed of reinforced steel and concrete (and likely other classified materials), are reportedly designed to withstand the blast, heat, pressure, and radiation of a 30-megaton nuclear detonation 1.2 miles away.
Deeper inside the tunnel, a second blast door acts as an airlock system to protect the complex’s interior, as recreated in the 1983 movie “WarGames.”
The blast doors of the Cheyenne Mountain Complex can be sealed in approximately 45 seconds using hydraulic systems or by on-site personnel using a mechanical chain-driven system (which would take much longer).
It had been reported the blast doors to the CMC were closed Sept. 11, 2001, during the terrorist attacks.
The inner complex within Cheyenne Mountain comprises 15 interconnected buildings, each three stories tall, constructed with reinforced “battleship” steel for maximum durability.
These buildings are strategically positioned eighteen inches from the granite rock walls of the mountain’s interior and are anchored to 1,300 high-strength steel springs, each weighing 1,000 pounds.
This innovative spring system engineering solution serves as a giant shock absorber designed to protect the buildings and personnel inside from the devastating effects of earthquakes, explosions, and the shockwave of a nuclear detonation.
The CMC contains six large, interconnected chambers, often referred to as tunnels. Each chamber is three stories tall, 45 feet wide, 60.5 feet high, and 588 feet long.
Due to escalating Cold War tensions, the NORAD Combat Operations Center became partially operational at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex April 20, 1966, while construction was still ongoing.
One month later, the NORAD Attack Warning System became operational, with final construction completed on Feb. 6, 1967.
The CMC was completed in 1967 at a reported cost of $142.4 million, which is equivalent to around $1.29 billion today, not including additional expenses for equipment, complex communications, monitoring systems, and infrastructure.
The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is primarily powered by electricity supplied from Colorado Springs; however, it can operate independently even in the event of external disruptions.
Backup power includes six locomotive-sized backup diesel generators and a 510,000-gallon reserve of diesel fuel.
Additionally, a large bank of industrial-grade lead-acid batteries provides uninterrupted power for critical electronic systems.
This redundant power system allows the CMC to operate independently for extended periods, ensuring the continuity of military command and control systems.
The CMC uses artesian mountain springs and a 1.5-million-gallon reservoir for water, supporting drinking, cooling, and fire safety.
The Cheyenne Mountain Complex has an advanced air filtration system that can remove biological, chemical, and radiological agents, including radioactive fallout, ensuring a safe and breathable environment.
In 1966, NORAD relied on the semi-automatic ground environment (SAGE) computer system, developed in the late 1950s, to track and defend North American airspace.
By the mid-1970s, SAGE had reached its limitations, leading to the 427M computer system replacement program, which improved NORAD’s effectiveness.
The new system consisted of three segments: the communication system segment, the missile warning system/space computational center, and the NORAD computer system (NCS).
Honeywell, then headquartered in Minneapolis, was the primary contractor for the NCS component.
In 1981, NORAD’s acronym was redefined as North American Aerospace Defense Command, expanding its mission to include aerospace defense.
NORAD now tracks earth-orbiting satellites and space debris in addition to monitoring and defending North America airspace.
In 2006, NORAD relocated its primary operations to Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, joining US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and the predecessor of Space Delta 1 (formerly Space Command under the US Air Force).
Peterson Space Force Base serves as NORAD and USNORTHCOM’s primary headquarters, while the Cheyenne Mountain Complex is an alternate command center and training site for both organizations.
NORAD maintains a continuous presence at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex and can relocate its entire operations there in response to any significant national security threat.
NORAD celebrated its 66th anniversary May 12 as the guardians of North America.
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| NORAD Command Console (undated) |
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| The north portal entrance to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex |
