Overview
The air defence of North America was based on radar and grew out of the Second World War. It took on many forms including ships, submarines, aircraft, and aircraft control and warning.
Together, these radars could provide many pieces of information, including the direction, range, altitude, and characteristics of an air craft. They could also help control it using this information when necessary.
Canada had worked hard on radar in the Second World War, even making equipment before the Americans. This brought them some power into the NORAD partnership.
After the Second World War, many radar advancements were made. This was most visible in the military. Radar in the mid-1960S was already over a million times more sensitive than it was in the Second World War. This allowed missiles, which are much smaller and fly at much higher altitudes than Second World War planes, to be tracked.
The specific changes that allowed for these advancements included higher frequencies, more power, better receivers, and bigger aerial systems (by the mid 1960s they measured 400 by 140 feet while in the Second World War they were 30 by 10 feet). Another new development was creating pictures of the radar screens. Since radar signals were fleeting, the images taken could be kept and compared.
There were two programs that helped advance radar during the Cold War. The Radar Improvement Program, or RIP, looked at the radars that were already in place and how to make them better. The Radar Extension Program, or REP, looked at how to further build on existing coverage.
Many pieces of equipment came together to help radar advance, some of which can be found on the following pages.