posted on Jun, 20 2004 @ 09:28 PM
AND THE NORAD COMPLEX
In January of 1956, Gen. Earle E. Partridge, Commander in Chief
of what was then the Continental Air Defense Command, laid the groundwork
for the United States Department of Defense requirement for a new
underground combat operations center.
The old above-ground center, located on Ent Air Force Base Colo.,
was too small to manage the growing air defense system and was highly
vulnerable to sabotage or attack. This new combat operations center
was to be remote from other prime targets and hardened to withstand
a thermonuclear blast. Studies and analyses showed that a command
center hollowed out of Cheyenne Mountain in the Colorado Springs
area was the best solution and could be done at a reasonable cost.
To oversee this new command center and the entire air defense network
of the United States and Canada, the North American Aerospace Defense
Command (NORAD) was established. On May 12, 1958, the first NORAD
agreement was signed by both countries, providing a framework for
cooperative defense planning and operations between both governments.
Excavation began for the new NORAD Combat Operations Center in
Cheyenne Mountain in May 1961. The excavation was nearly complete
one year later except for the repair of a geological fault in the
ceiling which was completed in May 1964. On February 6, 1966, the
NORAD Combat Operations Center attained full operational capability.
Operations were transferred from Ent Air Force Base to Cheyenne
Mountain on April 20, 1966. The total cost of the project was $142.4
In early 1979, the Air Force established a Space Defense Operations
Center to counter the emerging Soviet anti-satellite threat. Although
the space defense capabilities and systems established in Cheyenne
Mountain were in their infancy, this marked the beginning of an
increasing role in space.
The evolution continued into the 1980s when Air Force Space Command
was created and tasked with the Air Force Space mission. Air Force
Space Command formed the Space Combat Operations staff which absorbed
control of the space/missile warning activities in Cheyenne Mountain.
In April 1981, Space Defense Operations Center crews and their worldwide
sensors, under the direction of Air Defense Command, supported the
first flight of the space shuttle. Cheyenne Mountain has continued
to support every shuttle mission since. The evolution continues
into the 1990s.
In the latter part of the 1980s, the air sovereignty mission received
renewed emphasis and continues to play a role today in working with
U.S. and Canadian Customs Agencies. The Air Defense Operations Center
uses its air defense network to provide surveillance and control
of air operations to North America and unknown traffic.
Today the NORAD Combat Operations Center has evolved into the
Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center which collects data from a worldwide
system of satellites, radars, and other sensors and processes that
information on sophisticated computer systems to support critical
NORAD and U.S. Space Command missions. The Cheyenne Mountain Operations
Center provides warning of ballistic missile or air attacks against
North America, assists the air sovereignty mission for the United
States and Canada, and, if necessary, is the focal point for air
defense operations to counter enemy bombers or cruise missiles.
In support of the U.S. Space Command mission, the Cheyenne Mountain
Operations Center provides a day-to-day picture of precisely what
is in space and where it is located. The Cheyenne Mountain Operations
Center also supports space operations, providing critical information
such as collision advoidance data for space shuttle flights and
troubleshooting satellite interference problems. Since the Persian
Gulf War, the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center has continuted
to play a viatal and expanding role in supporting our deployed forces
with warning for short-range ballistic missiles such as the Iraqi
Cheyenne Mountain operations are conducted by six centers manned
24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The centers are: Command Center,
Air Defense Operations Center, Missile Warning Center, Space Control
Center, Combined Intelligence Watch Center, and the Systems Center.
The Command Center is the heart of operations in Cheyenne Mountain.
In this center, the Command Director and his crew serve as the NORAD
and U.S. Space Command Commander in Chief's direct representative
for monitoring, processing, and interpreting missile, space or air
events which could have operational impacts on our forces or capabilities,
or could be potential threats to North America or U.S. and allied
forces overseas. The Command Center is linked directly to the National
Command Authorities of both the U.S. and Canada as well as to rregional
command centers overseas. When required, the Command Director must
consult directly with the NORAD and U.S. Space Command Commander
in Chief for time-critical assessments of missile, air, and space
events; he takes action to ensure the Commander in Chief's response
and direction are properly conveyed and executed.
Air Defense Operations Center
The Air Defense Operations Center provides command and control
for the air surveillance and air defense network for North America.
In 1994, they monitored over 700 "unknown" radar tracks entering
North American airspace. Many of these were subsequently identified
as friendly aircraft that had erred from flight plans or used improper
procedures. Yet nearly 100 were idenfified as illegal drug-carrying
aircraft that were subsequently prosecuted by the U.S. and Canadian
Drug Enforcement Agencies.
Missile Warning Center
The Missile Warning Center uses a worldwide sensor and communications
network to provide warning of missile attacks, either long or short
range, launched against North America or our forces overseas. The
Missile Warning Center is divided into "strategic" and "theater"
sections. The strategic section forcuses on information regarding
missile launches anywhere on earth which are detected by the strategic
missile warning system and which could be a potential threat to
Canada or the U.S. The theater section focuses on short-range missile
launches processed by a Theater Event System which monitors missile
launches in areas or theater which could threaten U.S./allied forces,
such as when Iraqi SCUD missiles threatened our troops in Operation
Desert Storm. Cheyenne Mountain's capabilities to provide timely
and accurate warning and cueing for defensive systems such as the
Patriot batteries have improved considerably since Desert Storm
and continue to improve as new computer and communications systems
are added to Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center.
Space Control Center
The Space Control Center supports the space control missions of
space surveillance and protection of our assets in space. This center
was formed in March 1994 through the combination of the Space Surveillance
Center and Space Defensive Operations Center. The Space Control
Center's primary objective in performing the surveillance mission
is to detect, track, identify, and catalog all man-made objects
in space. The Center maintains a current computerized catalog of
all orbiting space objects, charts objects, charts present position,
plots future orbital paths, and forecasts times and general locations
for significant objects reentering the Earth's atmosphere. Since
1957, over 24,000 space objects have been cataloged, many of which
have since reentered the atmosphere. Currently, there are about
8,000 on-orbit objects being tracked by the Space Control Center.
The Center's protection mission is accomplished by compiling information
on possible hostile threats which could directly or indirectly threaten
U.S./allied space assets. This information is then analyzed to determine
effects/impacts of these threats to our assets in space so that
timely warning and countermeasure recommendations can be made. A
good example of this mission is our constant protection of the space
shuttle while in orbit, by providing collision avoidance information
Combined Intelligence Watch Center
The Combined Intelligence Watch serves aas the nation's indications
and warning center for worldwide threats from space, missile, and
strategic air activity, as well as geopolitical unrest that could
affect North America and U.S. forces/interests abroad. The Watch
gathers intelligence information to assist all the Cheyenne Mountain
work centers in correlating and analyzing events to support NORAD
and U.S. Space Command decision makers.
The Systems Center ensures continuity of operations throughout
the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center by providing communications
and computer systems management for over 100 computer systems and
600 communications circuits in support of NORAD and U.S. Space Command
missile warning, space control, and air defense missions. This center
is also responsible for monitoring all environmental systems maintained
within Cheyenne Mountain, to include electrical power generation,
water purity, integration of communications and computer systems
testing, operator and maintenance technician training, and maintenance
of all Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center communications and computer
Weather Support Unit
The Weather Support Unit, located on Peterson Air Force Base,
Colo., provides weather reports to the Cheyenne Mountain Operations
Center Command Director on a 24-hour-a-day basis. The Weather Support
Unit performs continuous meteorological monitoring of terrestrial,
geophysical, and solar (space) weather elements which could affect
NORAD and U.S. Space Command units, their missions, and equipment.
Cheyenne Mountain Security and Reliability
The United States? strategic warning system is completely secure
to unauthorized interference. It is a self-contained warning system
using stand-alone computers and dedicated communication circuits.
In addition, cryptological (scrambling) devices are employed at
both ends of every communication circuit.
There are over 1,100 military and civilian personnel working in
the Mountain. Although Cheyenne Mountain would probably not survive
a direct hit from today?s accurate and high-yield nuclear weapons,
it could survive lower yield nuclear and conventional weapons impact.
It is also well protected against other actions such as sabotage
and terrorism. It is self-sustaining, capable of providing its own
power, water, air, and food for up to 800 people for 30 days.
The Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center comprises the largest
and most complex command and control network in the world. The system
uses satellites, microwave radio routes, and fiber optic links to
transmit and receive vital communications. The bulk of electronic
information is transmitted by two blast-hardened microwave antennas
and two underground coaxial cables. Most of this information is
data sent from the worldwide space surveillance and warning network
directly to computers inside the Mountain. Redundant and survivable
communications hot lines connect the Command Center to the Pentagon,
White House, U.S. Strategic Command, Canadian Forces Headquarters
in Ottawa, other aerospace defense system command posts, and major
military centers around the world.
Cheyenne Mountain Operating Costs
A Cheyenne Mountain Complex cost analysis was conducted by the
Air Force Audit Agency in May 1995. The audit established the total
annual operating cost for Cheyenne Mountain in 1994 at $152 million.
Of this total, the mission costs accounted for about 80 percent,
with only 20 percent being facility related.
In fact, there are some costs which are unique to Cheyenne Mountain
operations. Two noncommissioned officers are required to tighten
bolts which provide strength to the rock walls, and three noncommissioned
officers maintain the blast door pneumatic valves. Heating is actually
a "negative cost" since the Mountain is heated as a by-product of
the heat generated by its computers. Also, since there are only
two entrances to the Mountain, security requirements are minimal.
The audit concluded that there are very few costs unique to the
Mountain and that mission expenses drive the Mountain costs, not
For the past 29 years, Cheyenne Mountain has sustained a constant
vigil over the North American continent, guarding against attacks
from land, sea, air, and space. The Mountain continues to evolve
in an ever-changing environment effectively and efficiently, supporting
not only critical national defense missions for the U.S. and Canada,
but also space support and theater defense missions worldwide.
Source information used with permission
from the Department Of The Air Force