And like any well-oiled military operation the Santa mission has its own war plan of sorts — and it doesn’t miss a beat in ensuring the volunteers are well-armed to inform the public on NORAD’s wide range of capabilities.

“While in the United States, American NORAD fighter pilots in either the F-15s, F16s or F-22s get the thrill of flying with Santa and the famous Reindeer — Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph,” the playbook offers in outlining all the high-tech gear that is being employed. “Even though Santa flies faster than any jet fighter (Santa actually slows down for us to escort him), all of these systems together provide NORAD with a very good, continuous picture of his whereabouts.”

The “ultra-cool, high-tech, high-speed digital cameras” known as “SantaCams” are turned on especially for this mission to provide live video feeds of Santa’s journey.