The Berlin Airlift (1948–1949) was a massive Allied operation that supplied West Berlin with food and fuel via air. It was triggered when the Soviet Union blockaded all land and water routes into the city. For nearly a year, Allied aircraft made over 250,000 flights to save the isolated city from starvation.
Operation Noble Eagle is the ongoing military mission launched by the United States and Canada to protect North American airspace from internal and asymmetric aerial threats. Activated on September 12, 2001, in response to the 9/11 attacks, it shifted NORAD focus from external Cold War threats to monitoring, intercepting, and deterring threats within domestic skies.