NORAD‘s mission is dependent on Canadian- and US-based sensors, including the above Air Route Surveillance Radar system version 4, long-range radar, in Paso Robles, California. (Photo: USAF/Deb Henley) Expanding Definition of US Homeland The US remains committed to securing its states and territories from current and evolving threats. To that end, language in the US House of Representatives’ review of The Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act directs “the Secretary of Defense to contract with a federally-funded research center to provide an independent analysis regarding the proposed integrated air and missile defense architecture for the territory of Guam.” Beyond a West Flank Asset Canada and the US, two bulwarks of the NATO alliance, form NATO’s Western Flank with their NORAD command. An intriguing point to ponder is the prospect of integrating NORAD into the NATO structure. The effort to meld the two organizations would complement NATO’s 29 June 2022 Strategic Concept, which, in part, “reaffirms that NATO’s key purpose is to ensure our collective defence, based on a 360-degree approach. It defines the Alliance’s three core tasks: deterrence and defence; crisis prevention and management; and cooperative security.” Neither NATO nor NORAD, declined to comment on the record or on background about this suggested organizational enhancement – which will remain on MilTech’s editorial watchlist. Preparing for the 2030s and Beyond Canada and the US have demonstrated the political will to support NORAD and, more significantly, are investing in hardware and other materiel upgrades to enhance the command’s mission well beyond the 2020s. While NORAD will be strengthened by its support from the Canadian Armed Forces and US NORTHCOM, the command has the potential to further evolve though its logical integration into NATO. explained, “OTHR is a proven technology that will provide persistent surveillance of the distant northern approaches to the United States and mitigate the limitations of the Cold War-era North Warning System, while contributing to broader domain awareness challenges including space domain awareness. The ability to detect air-breathing and spaceborne threats in the approaches to Canada and the United States will be significantly enhanced by fielding OTHR as soon as possible. It is also vital to move quickly toward advanced space-based sensors capable of detecting hypersonic weapons, including hypersonic cruise missiles, and other advanced systems designed to evade detection.” He then noted modernizing and expanding IUSS “is equally important, as Russia and China continue to field highly advanced guided missile submarines.” Beyond Sensors Any doubts about the US’s will to defend its homeland, and more significant, make investment to upgrade its legacy-era Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) infrastructure and overarching weapon system (GWS) were cast aside this August when Northrop Grumman announced it was awarded a contract to lead the development of the next iteration of the weapons systems programme for GMD, designed to take out intermediate- and long-range missiles targeting the US. The US has 44 ground-based interceptors located at Fort Greely, Alaska, and Vandenburg Air Force Base, California. In September 2021, the Pentagon also successfully completed a test of a new booster for a next-generation GBI (NGI). Under the separate NGI competition, Northrop Grumman is partnered with Raytheon Technologies, and is going up against the team of Lockheed Martin and Aerojet Rocketdyne. According to a 1 August Northrop Grumman press release, “this latest contract GWS will transform the current ground system component of the GMD system by utilizing a DevSecOps approach leveraging proven digital transformation processes to update and modernize legacy code, warfighter capabilities, and incorporate the Next Generation Interceptor fleet into the overall GMD system.” Based in New Orleans, Marty Kauchak covers a wide range of policy, programme and industry issues as MilTech’s North American Bureau Chief. US and Canadian aircraft fly in formation over Alaska. Training events such as this allow NORAD the opportunity to hone continental defence skills as Canadian and US forces operate together in the Arctic, a region of increasing importance to the command and their sponsoring nations. (Photo: NORAD/Master Corporal Arthur Ark) Defence of the US and its Allies MT 5/2022 · 13 e
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