| Continental Air Defense Command | |
|---|---|
 Until 1963, CONAD HQ was located in the four-story former National Methodist Sanitorium building (background, behind sign) | |
| Active | September 1, 1954 – June 30, 1975 |
| Type | Unified Combatant Command |
| Role | Air defense |
| Part of | United States Department of Defense |
| Garrison/HQ | Colorado Springs, CO |
Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) was a unified combatant command of the United States Department of Defense, tasked with air defense for the continental United States. It comprised Army, Air Force, and Navy components. The primary purpose of continental air defense during the CONAD period was to spot incoming Soviet bomber air raids in time to allow Strategic Air Command to launch a counterattack. It also controlled weapons to shoot down such bombers.
Among the weapons that CONAD controlled were Army Project Nike anti-aircraft missiles (Ajax and Hercules) and USAF interceptors (manned aircraft and BOMARC missiles). Some CIM-10B BOMARC missiles were armed with the 10-kiloton W-40 nuclear warhead.[1]
The command was disestablished in 1975, and Aerospace Defense Command became the major U.S. component of North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).
- ^ Maloney, Sean M. (2007). Learning to Love the Bomb: Canada's Nuclear Weapons During the Cold War (Google Books). ISBN 9781574886160. Retrieved 2014-06-20.