Tobago radar could ‘be used in US Venezuela conflict’

The G/ATOR radar system installed by the US at the ANR Robinson International Airport in Crown Point. - Photo by Alva Viarruel

A US communications specialist said in a military radio broadcast that the G/ATOR radar installed in Tobago can be used in US conflict in Venezuela. The statement was made by Specialist Second Class Natasha Chevalier Losada on December 4 on the radio station AFN Guantanamo Bay (Radio GTMO).

During the clip, Losada said, “American military forces have installed an AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR system in Trinidad and Tobago. The surveillance system primarily functions as aerial surveillance but officials say it can be used in US conflict with Venezuela. Tobago is approximately 70 miles from Venezuela’s Paria peninsula.”

She continued by quoting the Prime Minister. “‘Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, said of the installation, ‘They will help us to install our surveillance in the intelligence of the radar for the narco-traffickers in our water and outside our waters.’’”

Innovative Democratic Alliance political leader Dr Denise Tsoiafatt Angus said this announcement by the US military was “further evidence of what we already know of the lies that are being told to the people of Tobago and the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago by the Prime Minister and her Cabinet, and the Chief Secretary and his secretaries in the Tobago House of Assembly (THA).”

She said the continued state of emergency meant that people could not respond to the statements being made by these politicians.

“It is unfortunate that the lies being told to the people that they cannot respond in a manner that could get the government to understand their displeasure, because the state of emergency is in place strategically to muzzle the people at this time.”

In a media conference on November 29 at Calder Hall, Tobago, Chief Secretary Farley Augustine said central government has told him that the radar system installed at the ANR Robinson International Airport would not be used by the US to help attack Venezuela or any other nation.

Speaking at the media conference, Minister of Defence Wayne Sturge said the radar system was solely for domestic security purposes and would assist in identifying drug traffickers, gun smugglers and human traffickers.

Multiple attempts to reach Augustine, THA minority leader Kelvon Morris and PNM Tobago Council political leader Ancil Dennis for comment were unsuccessful.

There have been 22 strikes in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific, which have killed at least 87 people.

Chevalier Losada said the manufacturer, Northrup Grumman, said the system is able to “detect, track and target the world’s most sophisticated airborne threats in highly contested environments.” She said the system has a 360-degree maximum range of approximately 170 miles for air surveillance and tracking.

Northrup Grumman’s website said the long-range high-performance pulse doppler radar consolidates the air surveillance, air defense and counterfire target acquisition missions into one package, “able to complete all these functions simultaneously and react with the speed needed for today’s battlespace.

“The AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR utilizes S-band radar operations to provide long range, four-dimensional, 360-degree total surveillance for air and missile defense, fire control, and air traffic control. With the ability to establish fire control quality tracks on a single scan, the radar delivers the data necessary for air defense weapons to destroy airborne threats including cruise missiles, hypersonic missiles, ballistic missiles, manned aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).”

It said the AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR also determines launch points of hostile fire, such as rocket, artillery, or mortar fire, for counterstrikes against the sources of each threat. It said, in addition, it performs air traffic control missions with ease, acting as a ground-based, multi-functional manager of flight operations.

“This gallium nitride (GaN) AESA radar is engineered with open systems architecture, allowing for easy and affordable introduction of new hardware, software and mission capabilities. It is also highly survivable, providing anti-jamming capabilities, as well as high mobility, requiring minimal air or ground transport resources to change locations.”