>"What we're focused on is being able to detect adversary activity that poses a risk or threat" to North America, said Canadian Lt. Gen. Christopher Coates, deputy commander of NORAD. Military.com spoke with Coates, stationed at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, during a recent interview.
>Operation Noble Eagle, to defend the U.S. and Canada, was launched in the aftermath of 9/11.
>The command’s role was highlighted in the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport incident last year. In August 2018, a Horizon Air worker stole one of the airline's Q400 turboprops aircraft. The employee, later identified as ground service agent Richard Russell, 29, flew the empty aircraft south of Seattle before crashing into Ketron Island in the Puget Sound, roughly 35 miles south of the airport. He died in the crash.
NORAD responded with a multifaceted, coordinated effort between two F-15 Eagle pilots, who did not shoot the Q400 down.
>The Sea-Tac incident "completely mirrored the training events that we do," Coates said.
