North Dakota (Sensor Ship)

A gray-hulled naval sensor ship: a mid-sized steel surface combatant with a squat superstructure bristling with radar arrays, mast-mounted antennas and electronic surveillance pods. Deck crews are implied rather than shown; officers in the Situation Room cite its telemetry. Characters treat the ship’s signal as a hard contact, its wake of sensor data sharpening the hunt for a downed pilot.

2 appearances

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S1E22 · What Kind Of Day Has It Been

Pilot on the Line — Bartlet's Ultimatum

The North Dakota is referenced as the sensor platform whose AEGIS suite picked up the tracking signal on the south Fao Peninsula; it functions narratively as the moment of discovery that triggers the rescue debate.

Before: Patrolling/operating with AEGIS online, feeding telemetry to NATO/Brussels and the Situation Room.

After: Continues relaying sensor contacts; information from the ship remains part of the intelligence stream informing decision-making.

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S1E22 · What Kind Of Day Has It Been

Get Him Back — Bartlet Personalizes the Rescue and Issues an Ultimatum

The North Dakota is named as the platform whose AEGIS radar produced the track; its signal is treated as authoritative evidence of the pilot's approximate location.

Before: At-sea, operating its sensors and relaying tracking data to NATO and the Situation Room.

After: Remains the cited radar source; its detection continues to inform ongoing situational awareness and rescue planning.

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