U.S. says it is not scrapping NORAD after ambassador’s F-35 remarks

The State Department said on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, that the United States is not scrapping the Cold War–era North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, after U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra suggested the pact could be “altered” if Canada did not buy American F-35 jets.

Mr. Hoekstra’s comments to CBC News, in which he said that if Canada did not purchase Lockheed Martin F-35s “NORAD would have to be altered” and that the United States might have to fly into Canadian airspace to fill defense gaps, prompted concern and headlines in both countries. The State Department said Mr.

Hoekstra was referring to logistical hurdles and equipment, not to changing the agreement that governs NORAD. A department spokesperson said the F-35 jet was a “key planned part” of NORAD’s modernization and warned that if Canada “decided to significantly reduce its investment in the F-35, that would create a significant gap in the defense structure of North America,” adding that “filling that gap is not news, it is common sense.” NORAD, created in 1958 amid Cold War fears, is a binational organization that tracks air and maritime threats to North America, issues aerospace and maritime warning, establishes no-fly zones and monitors the skies during major events.

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