NEADS stands for the Northeast Air Defense Sector. It was a unit of the Air National Guard responsible for monitoring and protecting the airspace in the northeastern quadrant of the United States, including defense against airplane hijackings and aerial attacks
. On September 11, 2001, NEADS played a critical role as the first military unit informed about the hijackings and was tasked with searching for the missing planes and scrambling fighter jets in response to the attacks
. NEADS was part of NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) and operated out of Rome, New York
. In 2009, NEADS was renamed the Eastern Air Defense Sector (EADS) to better align its name with its mission
