Cheyenne Mountain Colorado Springs

The Cheyenne Mountain Colorado Springs complex traces its origins to 1956, when General Earle E. Partridge, commander of the Continental Air Defense Command, proposed construction of a new underground combat operations center to replace the outgrown and vulnerable above-ground facility at Ent Air Force Base, Colorado.

 

The Cheyenne Mountain NORAD Complex is located at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station (CMAFS), a short distance from NORAD and USNORTHCOM headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

 

At the height of the Cold War in the late 1950s, the idea of a hardened command and control center was conceptualized as a defense against long-range Soviet bombers. The Army Corps of Engineers supervised the excavation of Cheyenne Mountain and the construction of an operational center within the granite mountain.  The Cheyenne Mountain Colorado Springs facility became fully operational as the NORAD Combat Operations Center on April 20, 1966.

 

Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station is owned and operated by Air Force Space Command.  In fact, NORAD and USNORTHCOM use just under 30% of the floor space within the complex and comprise approximately 5% of the daily population at Cheyenne Mountain.

 

Today, the Cheyenne Mountain Colorado Springs Complex serves as NORAD and USNORTHCOM's Alternate Command Center and as a training site for crew qualification.  Day-to-day crew operations for NORAD and USNORTHCOM typically take place at Peterson Air Force Base.

 

As a result of ongoing operational and security requirements, Cheyenne Mountain NORAD is not open to the general public for tours.