US radar in Tobago designed for war, not drugs ops | Local News | trinidadexpress.com

There is already a fully functional and effective marine radar surveillance system monitoring the waters around Trinidad and Tobago, and the radar now being manned by US military in Tobago is a battlefield-grade system, designed for war and not counter-narcotics operations.

This is according to retired Lt Cmdr Norman Dindial, a former military commander who once ran T&T’s own coastal surveillance.

The presence of the newly installed radar in the country could require accompanying defensive weapons, such as surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missile systems, or man-portable air-defence systems (MPADS—portable shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles) to be situated nearby, raising concerns that the island could become a potential target as tensions surge within the Southern Caribbean, according to Dindial.

The system, spotted in Tobago at the ANR Robinson International Airport last week amid a flurry of US marine flights originating from Cherry Point North Carolina and reportedly reaching the sister isle, is believed to be an AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR, engineered for missions far more complex than routine maritime interdiction, Dindial said.

Manufacturer, Northrop Grumman, describes the AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR as a long-range, high-performance pulse doppler radar that can provide 360-degree air surveillance, air defence and counterfire (neutralising enemy weapons) target acquisition.

Last Wednesday Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar acknowledged the presence of US marines in Tobago, stating that they were there to help the country with a roadway.

By Thursday she admitted that they were also there to help install a radar on the island, further claiming that Trinidad and Tobago’s existing radar capability was inadequate. She said the system would provide real-time monitoring of the nation’s air and sea space and described it as a critical asset in the fight against crime and narco-trafficking.

But Dindial, who was himself once the director of the country’s National Coastal Surveillance Radar Centre, said the country’s current system, an Israeli-sourced $50 million system purchased by the former administration, is fully capable of detecting marine movement and is highly sophisticated.

He said that system allowed T&T to see go-fast boats and vessels moving around the country, though it did not necessarily allow the country to perform interdictions without adequate Coast Guard resources to do so.

Further to this, he said the G/ATOR system, a battle-grade system, looks at airspace and flying solutions, picking up targets moving through airspace at the speed of sound, including missiles and military aircraft. He called the Prime Minister’s statement that it was to be used for maritime surveillance and counter-narcotic movements “incredulous”, as its primary function is for air surveillance, air defence, and not for marine or vessel traffic.

“It can pick up targets moving at Mach 1 or Mach 2—which is faster than the speed of sound. This is just one piece of the puzzle,” he said.

According to Dindial, the G/ATOR radar system is likely not intended to aid US warships in the region that are typically equipped with their own advanced monitoring systems. But being used by the US, the radar would extend its far-reaching detection capability, in the midst of its military campaign in the Caribbean and mounting pressure on Venezuela.

Dindial’s comments come as the US has carried out at least 21 lethal strikes on alleged drug-carrying vessels in the region in recent weeks against targets it claims are linked to Venezuelan and other regional trafficking groups and cartels. The strikes have thus far killed 82 people, with no evidence shared.

Missiles/ Defence Systems

Dindial also pointed out that the radar itself is only one resource, considered highly valuable and vulnerable without defence. Such an asset, given its far reaching capability, would require a defence system in close proximity, in the event of conflict.

“To have that radar system, there has to be some kind of missile system or some sort of strike system close by in proximity to defend it. If you are going into a combat situation, the first thing they take out is your air defence, so a radar head is a vulnerable high asset target in any conflict situation.

“If you have to defend that it means that in Tobago you may have in close proximity military hardware there such as surface to air missiles, surface to surface missiles, things with strike capability to defend the radar head. If it is the target of a missile attack, you need to have counter defensive measures,” he said.

He added, “The second phase is the command structures and even that information has to be plugged in somewhere, such as some sort of strike capability. I am saying you are going to have some kind of surface to air missiles, surface to surface missiles somewhere on.”

“That is where the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. We are getting drawn into something by saying defence and narcoterrorism, but the radar itself is not designed to look at ships. It is designed for missiles and fast moving targets.”

Dindial said the narrative was being spun by the government, and that in the event of conflict, the country may become a legitimate target alongside the radar. If protective forces to defend it were not stationed in Tobago, he said it may mean that US assets would move closer.

“You do not put in assets without defending it, especially that type of radar, a military grade radar. So it is either that or in the interim they are using the vessels around and they may be coming closer,” he said.

At the speed of sound 

Asked if he believed the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF) had the ability to defend the radar without US intervention, he said The TTDF has only close quarter resources to patrol the perimeter. Locally, the TTDF could not defend against a mortar attack, he said.

“If someone fires a mortar, or an RPG, we do not have those sorts of defences. Those capabilities would come from the US. We do not have that capability to protect this asset right now,” he added.

Asked if the radar had the capability to spot civilian craft, he said it did, but that the country already has that capability with its ATC radars.

He questioned the Prime Minister’s claim that she was previously unable to confirm the radar’s presence due to national security reasons.

He further questioned why its installation was in the interest of the country’s national security given its already capable radar systems.

On Persad-Bissessar’s claim that the radar would only be used to look at T&T’s territory, he said it was an issue of semantics as the G/ATOR has the capability to look into Venezuela.

“This is what it is used for, missiles, aircraft and so on. You can see civilian aircraft but you already have the capability in your aerodrome to do that. This radar is to see fighter jets that can travel at the speed of sound. Missiles travel hypersonic. Military aircraft travel hypersonic. It is saying that the radar will not be used for that, but it has the capability to and it can be turned on and off at any time,” he said.

Marine Radar

In 2018, then Minister of National Security Stuart Young stated that a total of US$7.5 million (TT$50.25 million) would be spent to upgrade the sophisticated Israeli radar system referenced by Dindial, to be used by the Coast Guard that goes all the way up the islands north of Grenada in an effort to secure this country’s borders.

He said although the radar system has been operational, there were some difficulties, and the Cabinet took a decision to upgrade the equipment to make sure it is operating with the best technology.

Young said the provider, an Israeli firm, would have been re-engaged to ensure all of the radar systems are properly operational.

In 2023, then National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds, in answering a question posed in Parliament, said that the nation’s radar system, was 360-degree and ’fully functional’

“In light of that I would say that we have a radar system, it is now 360-degree fully functional watching what is happening around but there is no coast guard fleet in the world that has the capacity to patrol all of the ports of entry, legal or illegal. None. Trinidad and Tobago being no different,” he then said.

Asked about the system yesterday, Young told the Express that the country should not be gas-lit by the Prime Minister.

“Please do not allow Mrs Persad-Bissessar to gaslight you and the population. The radar in question in Tobago is a military radar used in conflict zones. I will not speculate as to its use or purpose in Tobago, the Prime Minister should provide the necessary information,” he said.