The US military has installed high-tech radar equipment in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago. Island officials say the surveillance system can monitor drug ships, but could also be used in the conflict between the United States and Venezuela.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar announced on November 28 that the US Marine Corps has installed a radar system in Tobago. This unit is located at the eastern end of the Crown Point runway at ANR Robinson International Airport.
Trinidad and Tobago is a two-island country in the southern Caribbean. Tobago is approximately 110 miles from Venezuela’s Paria Peninsula.
The radar unit is reported to be an AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR system, a long-range, high-performance pulsed Doppler system, according to manufacturer Northrop Grumman. It can be installed in about 45 minutes.
Where is the radar system deployed?
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This unit can be used to track boats, but its primary function is aerial surveillance.
The system is “capable of detecting, tracking and targeting the world’s most sophisticated aviation threats in a highly competitive environment,” Northrop said. For aerial surveillance and tracking, the maximum 360-degree range is approximately 170 miles.
What is the US radar system in Tobago?
The United States has built up military forces near Venezuela and launched airstrikes against at least 21 suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean.
President Donald Trump told the U.S. military on Thanksgiving that military operations would soon include ground strikes.
“In recent weeks, we’ve been working to stop drug traffickers in Venezuela,” Trump said in a phone call with military officials, alluding to the boat attack. “We’ll start stopping them from land as well. It’s easier on land, but it’ll start soon.”
Prime Minister Persad Bissesar initially denied reports that the Marines were in Tobago on November 26, but retracted on November 27, saying the Marines were there to install radar systems and carry out work on runways and roads.
“They will help improve surveillance and radar intelligence against drug traffickers in and around our nation’s waters,” she said, military.com reported.
According to Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, the radar equipment was installed after a two-hour meeting between Persad-Bissessar and US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Cain in Trinidad on November 25.
Trinidad and Tobago and the Dominican Republic are allies of the United States against Venezuela.
Contributor Zach Anderson, USA TODAY
SOURCE USA TODAY NETWORK REPORTS AND INVESTIGATIONS. Reuters; Northrop Grumman. Global Defense News. Guardian of Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago Newsday; military.com
