article_snippet.sent: the Pentagon the Pentagon this week announced a $700 million contract with Raytheon Corporation to oversee the work for North American Aerospace Command (NORAD) and US Northern Command.
article_snippet.sent: From inside the massive complex, airmen were poised to send warnings that could trigger the launch of nuclear missiles.
article_snippet.sent: NORAD, a joint U.S. and Canadian command, was set up in the 1960s to monitor American skies for threats like missiles, aircraft and space objects.
article_snippet.sent: In 2006, Adm. Tim Keating, who commanded both NORAD and the U.S. Northern Command, said the government's best intelligence 'led the government's best intelligence ' to believe a missile attack from China or Russia was very unlikely.'
article_snippet.sent: Under the 10-year contract, Raytheon is supposed to deliver 'sustainment' services to help the military perform 'accurate, timely and unambiguous warning and attack assessment of air, missile and space threats' at the Cheyenne and Petersen bases.
article_snippet.sent: Raytheon's contract also involves unspecified work at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska.
highlights_snippet.sent: Decommissioned 10-years ago because 'the Russians were no longer a threat' 