“A joint United States-Canadian command, NORAD [North American Aerospace Defense Command] was established [May 12] 1958, at the height of the Cold War. Its mission, ‘air sovereignty,’ was control of airspace above the domestic United States, as well as surveillance and control of the airspace of Canada and the United States. It was empowered to enforce ‘air sovereignty’ through the use of fighter jets kept on constant alert around the perimeter of the continent.”
– John Farmer, The Ground Truth, Pages 27-28