COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — High above the festive lights of the Rockies, deep within the granite heart of Cheyenne Mountain, a different kind of Christmas mission is unfolding. On this December 25, 2025, while most of the world unwraps gifts, the men and women of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) are finishing their most high-stakes annual operation: ensuring the safe passage of Santa Claus across the North American continent.
CBS News Colorado recently gained exclusive access to the inner workings of this 70-year tradition, witnessing how the U.S. Air Force and Royal Canadian Air Force transform a serious mission of continental defense into a global celebration of holiday magic.
70 Years of the “Nicest Wrong Number”
The 2025 season marks exactly seven decades since the “accident” that changed military history. It began in 1955 with a misprinted phone number in a Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement in Colorado Springs. The ad invited children to call Santa, but the number actually rang into the unlisted “red phone” at the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD)—NORAD’s predecessor.
On duty that night was Air Force Col. Harry Shoup, a stern commander tasked with alerting the Pentagon of a nuclear attack. Instead of a general, he found a small child on the line asking, “Is this Santa?” Shoup, initially confused and perhaps a bit annoyed, soon realized the gravity of the situation. He didn’t want to break the child’s heart. He ordered his radar operators to “track” a large, unidentified sleigh coming from the North Pole. A tradition was born, and by December 23 of that year, the Associated Press was officially reporting that the military was tracking the “Big Red Sleigh.”
High-Tech Holiday: How the Tracking Works in 2025
While the legend is rooted in a rotary phone, the 2025 operation uses the most sophisticated surveillance technology on the planet. NORAD utilizes a four-stage system to maintain eyes on Santa from the moment he leaves the North Pole.
1. The North Warning System
The journey begins with the North Warning System, a powerful line of 47 radar installations stretching across the northern border of Canada and Alaska. The moment Santa’s sleigh lifts off, these high-powered sensors detect the “blip” on the screen.
2. Infrared Satellites
Once the sleigh is in the air, the mission shifts to the Defense Support Program (DSP) satellites. These satellites sit in a geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above Earth and are equipped with infrared sensors designed to detect the heat signatures of missile launches.
“Rudolph’s nose gives off an infrared signature similar to a missile launch,” explained Brig. Gen. Thaddeus Fineran, U.S. Northern Command’s deputy director of operations. “Our satellites have no problem picking up that bright red glow as he crosses the Pacific.”
3. The Santa Cams
Starting in the early 2000s and upgraded significantly for the 2025 season, the Santa Cams are a network of high-speed digital cameras positioned at famous landmarks around the world. These cameras capture “CGI-quality” live footage of Santa flying past the Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall of China, and the Statue of Liberty, which are then streamed instantly to the millions of families watching on the NORAD Santa Tracker website.
4. Fighter Jet Escorts
As Santa enters North American airspace, he is met by elite aviators. Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 pilots intercept the sleigh over Newfoundland, and U.S. Air Force F-16s, F-15s, and F-22s take over the escort as he crosses into American territory.
“It’s a sign of respect,” a NORAD official told CBS News. “The pilots tip their wings in greeting, and Santa usually waves back before accelerating to his next stop. He moves faster than starlight, so our pilots have to be at the top of their game.”
The 2025 Operations Center: A Global Hub
The heart of the action isn’t just in the mountain; it’s at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs. In 2024, the call center logged over 380,000 calls. For 2025, that number is expected to climb even higher.
More than 1,000 volunteers, ranging from active-duty generals to local civilians, staff the phones for 23 hours straight. This year, for the first time, a new web-based calling system allowed children from outside North America to talk directly to a “Santa Tracker” in their native language.
Memorable Moments of 2025
The hotline often yields touching interactions. Michelle Martin, a NORAD staffer and Marine veteran, shared a story of a regular caller named Henry, a man with special needs who calls every year. This year, Henry asked if the pilots could leave a note in their cockpits to tell Santa he was in bed and ready.
Even President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump participated in the calls from Mar-a-Lago this year. When a child asked why the military tracks Santa, the President replied with his signature style: “We need to track Santa. Santa is good. We need to make sure he’s not a bad Santa… I love Oklahoma. Don’t ever leave Oklahoma!”
The Logistics of a Billion Presents
According to NORAD intelligence, Santa’s sleigh is a “versatile, all-weather, vertical short-takeoff and landing vehicle.” While the exact physics of his travel remain classified, NORAD experts suggest he functions within his own time-space continuum.
“To us, the trip takes 24 hours,” says the NORAD official. “But to Santa, it might last days or even weeks. He never rushes a delivery.”
Fast Facts for 2025:
- Total Gifts Delivered: Over 8.1 billion as of 10:00 AM MST.
- Top Speed: Estimated at several thousand miles per second.
- Fuel Source: Strictly “Christmas Spirit” and high-grade hay for the reindeer.
Why It Matters
In an era of global tension and complex aerospace threats, the NORAD Tracks Santa program serves as a reminder of the lighter side of defense. It is a binational partnership between the U.S. and Canada that showcases the human element behind the machines.
“It’s an all-domain effort,” said Brig. Gen. Fineran. “We use the same satellites and radar that protect our homes every other day of the year to bring a bit of magic to millions of children. It’s an honor to be Santa’s official escort.”
As the sun sets on Christmas 2025, the radars at Cheyenne Mountain will eventually go back to their primary mission. But for one night, the world’s most formidable military command focused on only one thing: making sure a jolly man in a red suit made it home safe.