Eastern Air Defense Sector

The Eastern Air Defense Sector (EADS) is a United States Air Force unit under Air Combat Command (ACC), permanently assigned to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). It is a joint, bi-national military organization composed of US and Canadian military forces, federal civilians, and contractors. EADS is located at the Griffiss Business and Technology Park in Rome, New York, which is the site of the former Griffiss Air Force Base. It operates as a subordinate command of the First Air Force and Continental NORAD Region. The primary mission of EADS is to counter air threats within its assigned Area of Operations through detection, warning, and tactical control of NORAD and NORTHCOM forces. The unit has approximately 400 full- and part-time military and civilian personnel, including a Canadian Forces detachment and liaison officers from the US Army, US Navy, US Coast Guard, and Federal Aviation Administration. The New York Air National Guard's 224th Air Defense Group provides the majority of forces for the NORAD mission at EADS.

EADS's lineage traces back to the 4621st Air Defense Wing, organized on April 1, 1956, which was redesignated as the New York Air Defense Sector (NYADS) later that year. The NYADS was the first sector to activate a SAGE (Semi-Automatic Ground Environment) Direction Center in 1958, a foundational project in computer-era air defense. The NYADS was inactivated on April 1, 1966. On July 1, 1987, the Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS) was activated at Griffiss Air Force Base. In the mid-1990s, the Air National Guard assumed responsibility for leading U.S. air defense, with the New York Air National Guard activating the Northeast Air Defense Squadron to staff the Sector HQ in December 1994. Following the 9/11 attacks, NEADS developed new capabilities for identifying and engaging internal air threats. On November 1, 2005, NEADS consolidated with the Southeast Air Defense Sector, expanding its responsibility to the entire eastern half of the United States. NEADS was officially re-designated the Eastern Air Defense Sector (EADS) on July 15, 2009. The Northeast Air Defense Squadron formally became the 224th Air Defense Group in December 2014. EADS maintains operational command and control over various Air National Guard fighter units across multiple states.