Our Strategy

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) are separate commands. Both leverage the commander's singular vision and guidance; develop plans to meet challenges in the same strategic and operational environments; build complementary mission approaches; and share a common goal of defense of the United States and Canada. This NORAD and USNORTHCOM Strategy is a combined strategy that aligns with objectives identified in the Interim National Security Strategic Guidance, National Defense Strategy, and Canada’s Strong, Secure, Engaged policy.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (PDF)

 

Theory of Advantage

The theory of advantage emphasizes the importance of global integration, strong relationships with Allies and partners, and whole-of-government cooperation. This approach is essential for defending the continent and our forces, as well as projecting power. NORAD and USNORTHCOM will work together to support coordinated efforts across defense and security activities, focusing on binational deterrence across North America. This binational integration is a model for global integration and has been a successful template for working with Allies and partners for over 60 years. To achieve persistent advantage, we must integrate all instruments of national power and be able to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. This requires a high degree of flexibility and the ability to respond to emerging threats in a timely and effective manner.

Nuclear Deterrence

Nuclear deterrence remains the bedrock of the United States' defense. In this deterrence by punishment approach, we depend upon our competitors fearing the prohibitive costs of reprisal. However, we must also bring deterrence by denial into our planning calculus. Reliance on nuclear deterrence alone leaves a gap for competitors to exploit if they believe they can achieve their objectives below the nuclear threshold ranging from cyberattacks to conventional weapons. NORAD and USNORTHCOM will close this gap by further developing flexible, responsive options that complicate a potential adversary’s decision calculus. The American and Canadian people are safe and secure today but, without intentional efforts to counter our competitors’ fast-paced advances, our competitive advantage will erode.

Strategic Environment

For decades, our nations enjoyed the benefits of dominant military capabilities in all domains and we relied on our geography to serve as a barrier to keep our nations beyond the reach of most conventional threats. Our ability to project power forward along with our technological overmatch has allowed us to fight forward and focus our energy on conducting operations overseas. However, our competitors have analyzed our ability to operate overseas and have invested in capabilities such as ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, hypersonic weapons, small unmanned aircraft systems, artificial intelligence, cyber capabilities, and delivery platforms to offset our strengths while exploiting our perceived weaknesses. These advancing capabilities embolden competitors and adversaries to challenge us at home, looking to threaten our people, our critical infrastructure and our power projection capabilities. As a result, the stakes are higher than they have been in decades and, for NORAD and USNORTHCOM, successful continental defense is the only option. 

Whether the threats come from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, violent extremist organizations, or transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), significant challenges persist. This environment requires a culture change that factors in homeland defense, from a global perspective, into every aspect of operational plans and strategies, decisions, and budgeting choices resulting in the sustained successful defense of our two nations. 

The Arctic provides a good example of the changing physical and strategic environment and is a zone of international competition. Both Russia and China are increasing their activity in the Arctic. Russia’s fielding of advanced, long-range cruise missiles capable of being launched from Russian territory and flying through the northern approaches and seeking to strike targets in the United States and Canada has emerged as the dominant military threat in the Arctic. Additionally, diminished sea ice and competition over resources present overlapping challenges in this strategically significant region. China is not content to remain a mere observer in the growing competition, declaring itself a “near-Arctic state,” and has taken action to normalize its naval and commercial presence in the region to increase its access to lucrative resources and shipping routes. 

Missions & Vision

NORAD conducts aerospace warning, aerospace control, and maritime warning in the defense of North America. ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ------

USNORTHCOM defends our homeland - deters, detects, denies, and defeats threats to the United States, conducts security cooperation activities with allies and partners, and supports civil authorities.

OUR VISION is to outpace global competitors, deter adversaries, deny and defeat threats through all-domain awareness, information dominance, decision superiority, and global integration. ---

Strategic Principles

The strategic principles of global integration, enhanced domain awareness, information advantage, decision advantage, and decisive action define the foundational ways NORAD and USNORTHCOM employ the theory of advantage towards the enduring conditions. Global integration multiplies the effects of enhanced domain awareness, information advantage, and decision advantage, with the output and decisive action. 

 

 

1. Global Integration 

Global integration means communicating across silos and leveraging Allies' and partners' strengths to ensure defense of the continent. It requires identifying existing networks for integration, curating relationships, and establishing new relationships. 

 

 

2. Enhanced Domain Awareness

Enhanced domain awareness is accomplished through investment in service-life extensions of still-viable but aging capabilities, new capabilities, inclusion of existing systems, and non-DoD/DND, Allied, and partner nation capabilities.

3. Information Advantage

Information advantage is gained by connecting data from sensors, translating it into information and rapidly disseminating synthesized information to leaders and warfighters at echelon.

 

 

4. Decision Advantage

Decision advantage is created on the speed, veracity, and fidelity of decisions and decision processes to outpace adversary decision and targeting cycles. Decision advantage gives leaders valuable time for more effective and efficient decisions. 

 

 

5. Decisive Action

Decisive action increases the resilience and security of critical systems and sites by implementing multiple layers of protection, including redundancy, dispersal, and deception.

Enduring Conditions  

NORAD and USNORTHCOM’s strategic approach focuses on achieving four enduring conditions (ECs) through the lens of the strategic principles. Because the nature of continental defense is not conducive to achieving a traditional "end state," the ECs drive us to continually evaluate the efficacy of operational planning and execution. This ensures our efforts, priorities, and resources are driving towards NORAD and USNORTHCOM's top priority - defending our nations. The four ECs serve as guideposts to drive efforts throughout both commands: 

 

 

Enduring Condition #1

Homelands defended from threats and adversary influence countered. 
NORAD and USNORTHCOM will defend the United States and Canada against aggression from malign actors and strategic competitors through a commitment to integrated defense with supporting CCMDs, CJOC, Allies, and partners across all domains and the competition continuum.  NORAD and USNORTHCOM’s combined deterrence posture incorporates deterrence by denial, deterrence by cost imposition, and enhanced resilience. 

 

Enduring Condition #2

United States and Canada outpace competitors to build enduring advantage through a focus on the inherent strength each nation brings the alliance. 
NORAD and USNORTHCOM will identify, invest in, and continually assess areas of competitive advantage for opportunities to outpace strategic competitors through active campaigning.  Each nation in the alliance brings unique strengths to bear on the defense of the continent and these strengths bring synergy to binational defense.

 

Enduring Condition #3

The U.S. and Canada's national security enhanced and regional stability maintained through strengthened partnerships. 
Strong and enduring partnerships are forged through security cooperation to accomplish the Commands’ missions.  Robust relationships with Allies and partners, international and interagency mission partners, industry, the private sector, and academia are key to expanding the competitive space and enabling a layered defense of North America across the competition continuum.

 

Enduring Condition #4

Rapidly provide precoordinated capabilities in support of effective DSCA and CSMO embraced by the whole-of-government to improve collective resilience in North America. 
USNORTHCOM supports partners during natural and manmade crises through integrated planning and prioritized effects that enable civilian and private sector organizations. These events also establish the conditions for Whole-of-Nation partners to leverage their capabilities in assisting NORAD and USNORTHCOM with mission accomplishment. 

 

Risks to the Strategy

Our adversaries have made capability advancements and modified their strategic approaches. If left unchecked, this produces two types of risk that this strategy seeks to address.  First, there is physical risk to our nation posed by adversary weapons if we lack conventional capabilities to deter and defeat them.  Second, such attacks on our nation imperil our ability to project power and therefore effectively respond and prevail abroad.  This strategy is a means to mitigate these risks. We must have a globally integrated approach to continental defense.  Successful execution of this strategy, including continued development of necessary information and protection capabilities will mitigate risk not only to those at home, but also our ability to protect our Allies and advance our interests abroad.

 

 

Conclusion

NORAD and USNORTHCOM must continually adapt to a dynamic strategic environment to remain relevant. Achieving strategic advantage requires the utilization of the Strategic Principles to drive a threat-informed time-of-need approach and seek a by-design homeland defense architecture. In the rapidly evolving strategic environment, integration and strong partnerships are crucial to assuring common national security interests and achieving competitive advantage. NORAD and USNORTHCOM place a premium on the U.S. and Canadian binational relationship and on domestic and regional partnerships across the Whole-of-Government.  NORAD and USNORTHCOM will continue to strengthen the relationships across the constellation of mission partners to integrate and synchronize efforts in meeting mutual security challenges and look to the future to enhance both nations’ shared contributions to the defense of North America.