North Bay Regional Air Operations Centre

 (2006-Active) - A NORAD Regional Air Operations Centre (RAOC) first established in 2006 on Canadian Forces Base (CFB) North Bay, North Bay, Ontario, Canada. The 22 Wing North Bay, also known as the Canadian Air Defence Sector (CADS), is responsible for providing surveillance, identification, control and warning for the aerospace defence of Canada and North America at the Sector AOC. The centre is housed in the above ground, two story, purpose built Sergeant David L. Pitcher building on CFB North Bay. Active military facility/installation.

North Bay SOCC
The Canadian Sector Operations Control Centre remained operational, using the FYQ-93 computers, until the Battle Control System-Fixed (BCS-F) (FYQ-156) system was installed circa 2006. About this time the name and acronym for the control center changed from Sector Operations Control Centre (SOCC) to Regional Air Operations Centre (RAOC).

The Canadian Air Defense Control center had occupied the under ground North Bay SAGE Direction Center DC-31 building under the SAGE System until it deactivated in 1983. The operation continued as a part of the ROCC/SOCC system, still underground in the former SAGE building using the FYQ-93 system until the change to the RADOC system and the FYQ-156 computer system came in 2006.

North Bay RAOC
The above ground Air Operations Centre is the only Canadian surveillance centre in the North American Air Defence System and provides coverage of all Canada. The Centre has four main crews, each of which includes aerospace controllers (AEC) and aerospace control operators (AC Op) who conduct operations 24/7. The centre monitors radar feeds of air traffic approaching Canadian airspace and directs intercepts of any suspected hostile aircraft.

Current Status
The RAOC is currently a component of the Canadian NORAD Region and is operated by NORAD service members that include the Canadian 21 Aircraft Control & Warning (21 AC&W) Squadron and Detachment 2, 1st Air force, USAF.

The $22 million dollar, 100,000 square foot building includes multiple back-up generators, surveillance systems, USAF secure facilities, a cryptology centre and battle stations. Inputs to the control center include digitized radar data from minimally attended radar sites all over Canada and other radar sensors. Data is exchanged with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

See Also:
 * North Bay SAGE Direction Center DC-31
 * Pinetree Line
 * FYQ-93
 * FYQ-156
 * US Radar Sets
 * Battle Control System-Fixed

Sources:

Links:
 * Office of the Auditor General of Canada - Chapter 6 - Modernizing the NORAD System in Canada
 * Bird - Building Architect