NORAD’s Combat Operations Center: A Distinctively Cold War Environment

Abstract

The North American Air Defense Command constructed an innovative command and control room inside of Cheyenne Mountain in the early 1960s. This ambition served Cold War military needs, such as protecting air defense systems from nuclear attack, as well as the political desire to uplift domestic morale. Technological developments implemented in the Combat Operations Center not only satisfied functional requirements but also served image-making objectives and provided foundations for nascent fields in engineering.