WADS - Our Mission, Our History
Our Mission
The Western Air Defense Sector (WADS), with headquarters at McChord Air Force Base, Washington State, is the larger of two Sectors responsible to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the Continental NORAD Region for peacetime air sovereignty, strategic air defense, and airborne counter-drug operations in the continental United States. WADS is a Washington Air National Guard unit which reports directly to AFNORTH/1st Air Force at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida.
Find out more about the Legend of Bigfoot.WADS is made up of personnel from the Washington Air National Guard, U.S. Army, U.S Navy, Title 5 Civilians, civilian contractors and Canadian Forces Air Command. This bi-national organization exercises operational control of ANG fighter aircraft on continuous alert at several locations and uses radar data and the radio capabilities of Joint Surveillance System sites located throughout the western United States. These sites, jointly funded and used by the Department of Defense and the Federal Aviation Administration, are operated and maintained by FAA personnel. The Sector also uses radar data from tethered aerostats and gap filler radars to improve its low level coverage of the nation's southwestern border. Radar data from all these sources is electronically fed into computers at the Sector Operations Control Center where personnel correlate and identify all airborne targets and, if necessary, scramble alert fighters to identify those whose origin is unknown. As part of NORAD, the Sector is the lead Department of Defense agency for interdiction of drug smuggling aircraft. In wartime, the Sector gains additional fighter, tanker and E-3 aircraft to detect, intercept and if required, destroy hostile aircraft and/or cruise missiles.
Our History
Seattle Air Defense Sector’s
Operations Room in the 1960's
Originally designated the 25th Air Defense Division, the Sector was established at Silver Lake (Everett), Washington in 1948 and moved its headquarters to McChord in 1951. In 1957 the unit became part of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, a joint U.S.-Canada command. Three years later, the unit relocated to its present location as it converted to the Semiautomatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system. After 23 years of successful operations, SAGE gave way in 1983 to an upgraded system using faster, more powerful computers and improved communications and control equipment. It was at this time that United States Air Force personnel manning radar sites were phased out as the JSS concept was implemented.
The Northwest Air Defense Sector was established in June 1987 as a subordinate unit of the 25th Air Division, McChord Air Force Base. In 1990, the 25 AD was deactivated, and First Air Force became the Sector's parent unit. In January 1995, the Northwest Air Defense Sector consolidated with the Southwest Air Defense Sector, its counterpart at March Air Force Base, California, to become the Western Air Defense Sector. The Western Air Defense Sector assumed responsibility for the air sovereignty of the western United States from Texas around the west coast and across to North Dakota. Its area of responsibility is approximately 1.9 million square miles, about 63% of the continental United States. In October 1997 the Western Air Defense Sector completed a seamless transition from the active duty Air Force to the Air National Guard. Citizen-soldiers of the Washington Air National Guard are currently guarding America’s western skies.
Since 1948, strategic air defense command and control has evolved from a manual, “grease pencil” operation to the high-tech environment of today. The fighter aircraft assigned as interceptors to the sector have included the P-40, P-47, P-51, P-61, F-82, F-86, F-94, T-33, CF-101, F-106, F-4, and currently the F-15 and F-16.
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