We were going to do a story on the Caribbean Early Warning radar system but our google of “Barbados Radar” brought up a declassified US State Department Report on UFO reports and Barbados was one of the countries mentioned!
What follows is a story that reads like a thriller, with the Defence force placed on Red Alert in full battle dress with loaded weapons (including the Cadet Corps). Coast Guard units were deployed to protect the harbour and Police officers were placed on guard at beaches that might be subject to a sea landing. The Trident was deployed to check for sea traffic but did not find any.
The then Prime Minister Tom Adams called the US Charge D’affaires to find out if the radar contacts were US aircraft which they weren’t. There was a Soviet naval exercise taking place but that was over on the other side of the Caribbean Sea near the Yucatan. The BDF’s Cessna aircraft was deployed to see if it could visually identify the objects but reported finding nothing. Two further aircraft with civilian pilots were on standby if needed. Around 4.00am the objects were moving away from Barbados in the general direction of Martinique. The Defence Force stood down around 7.00am.
Up to now, there is no generally accepted explanation for what it was on the radar that caused the fuss. Funny what you can find on the net when you look isn’t it?
Marginal
The full text appears below…
1. (C) ENTIRE TEXT).
2. SUMMARY: THE LATE NIGHT APPEARANCE OF UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS ON BARBADOS RADAR SCREENS PROVOKED A SERIOUS DEFENSE AND SECURITY ALERT. OBJECTS REMAINED VISABLE ON RADAR FOR MORE THAN AN HOUR AND A HALF, FINALLY DISAPPEARING OUT OF RANGE TO THE NORTH. PRIME MINISTER CALLED CHARGE D’AFFAIRES TO CONFIRM THAT THERE WERE NO U.S. MILITARY OPERATIONS GOING ON IN THE AREA. THIS WAS CONFIRMED TO EMBASSY BY NATIONAL MILITARY COMMAND CENTER. SO FAR, THERE IS NO CONSENSUS OR AN EXPLANATION FOR THE PHENOMENON. LEADING HYPOTHESES ARE ATMOSPHERICS AND TECHNICAL MALFUNCTION. BUT CONSIDERABLE SUSPICION REMAINS THAT SOMETHING VERY WORRISOME OCCURRED. BARBADIAN RECOLLECTIONS OF REPUTED “MERCENARY” INVASIONS IN 1976 AND 1980 HAVE BEEN PIQUED. PRESENCE OF SOVIET FLEET IN THE
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CARIBBEAN HAS ALSO FED SPECULATION. END SUMMARY.
3. ACCORDING TO GOB OFFICIALS, ON 12 APRIL AT APPROXIMATELY 0210 HOURS, THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL RADAR LOCATED AT GRANTLEY ADAMS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, BARBADOS SHOWED A SERIES OF UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS ON ITS SCREEN. REPORTEDLY, THE OBJECTS SHOWN WERE CONFIGURED IN FOUR
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE
REVIEW AUTHORITY: SAM A. MOSKOWITZ
DATE/CASE ID: 7 FEB 2000 199404243
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LOOSE BUT DISTINCT FORMATIONS, AND WERE INITIALLY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 30 MILES SOUTHEAST, AND TRACKING TOWARD THE AIRPORT AT APPROXIMATELY 80 TO 100 KNOTS PER HOUR. THE ALTITUDE COULD NOT BE DETERMINED. THE PRIME MINISTER, CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE BARBADOS DEFENSE FORCE (BDF), AND THE POLICE COMMISSIONER OF BARBADOS WERE IMMEDIATELY NOTIFIED BY THE AIRPORT PERSONNEL. AT 0214 THE ENTIRE BDF (TO INCLUDE RESERVE UNITS AND CADET CORPS) WERE PLACED ON RED ALERT. AT 0215, PRIME MINISTER ADAMS ALERTED THE CHARGE, U.S. EMBASSY. AGAIN, ACCORDING TO ATC PERSONNEL, AT 0220, THE FORMATION (THEN BELIEVED TO BE APPROXIMATELY 14 MILES OUT) SPLIT, WITH TWO OBJECTS TRACKING TO THE WEST COAST AND TWO TO THE EAST COAST OF BARBADOS. THE MAIN BODY REMAINED DIVIDED INTO THREE LOOSE FORMATIONS. THE OBJECTS CLOSED TO WITHIN FOUR MILES OF BARBADOS AND THEN MOVED IN A NORTHERLY DIRECTION. AT APPROXIMATELY 0330, THE BDF SCRAMBLED ITS CESSNA 402 AIRCRAFT IN THE ATTEMPT TO IDENTIFY THE OBJECTS. ADDITIONALLY, THEY LAUNCHED 125-FOOT FAST PATROL BOAT “TRIDENT,” TO CHECK SHIPPING IN THE AREA. BOTH TURNED UP NEGATIVE RESULTS. AT 0400, THE RADAR STILL TRACKED NINE OBJECTS OVER THE NORTHERN PORTION OF BARBADOS. AT 0410, THE OBJECTS DISAPPEARED HEADING TOWARD MARTINIQUE.
4. PRIME MINISTER ADAMS WANTED TO KNOW IF THERE WERE ANY U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT IN THE AREA OR IF WE COULD OTHER-
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WISE EXPLAIN THE PHENOMENON. HE WONDERED IF THE UFOS COULD BE RELATED TO THE CURRENT SOVIET NAVAL PRESENCE IN THE CARIBBEAN. CHARGE COULD OFFER NO EXPLANATION BUT VOLUNTEERED TO CONFIRM THAT NO U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT WERE IN THE VICINITY AND OFFERED TO SEND EMBASSY LIAISON OFFICER TO BARBADOS DEFENSE FORCE SITUATION ROOM. BOTH THE MILITARY LIAISON OFFICER (CDR DUNN) AND DEFENSE ATTACHE (LTC REIMAN) HAD BEEN ALERTED BY THE BDF. BY TELEPHONE, DAO CHECKED WITH NATIONAL MILITARY COMMAND CENTER IN WASHINGTON, WHICH INDICATED THAT NONE OF THE U.S. COMMANDS WERE CONDUCTING EXERCISES IN THE AREA. MOREOVER, WE WERE INFORMED THAT A SOVIET NAVAL EXERCISE WAS TAKING PLACE, BUT IN THE YUCATAN PENINSULA AREA.
5. DEFENSE ATTACHE LTC REIMAN ARRIVED AT THE BDF SITUATION ROOM AT APPROXIMATELY 0300 HOURS AND WAS THOROUGHLY BRIEFED ON THE SITUATION. REIMAN SUBMITS THE FOLLOWING OBSERVATIONS BASED UPON HIS THREE HOUR LIAISON DUTY IN THE SITUATION ROOM:
- THE BDF WAS ON FULL ALERT WITH LOADED WEAPONS AND
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IN FULL BATTLE UNIFORMS. EACH OF THE REGIONAL SECURITY SYSTEM (RSS) ISLANDS HAD BEEN ALERTED THE FRENCH ON MARTINIQUE HAD BEEN ALERTED/ASKED IF THEY HAD AN EXERCISE IN PROGRESS. FRENCH ANSWER WAS NEGATIVE. ENTIRE SENIOR BDF STAFF, TO INCLUDE RESERVE OFFICERS, WERE IN THE SITUATION ROOM. POLICE HAD BEEN DEPLOYED TO GUARD BEACHES WHERE POSSIBLE SEABORNE LANDING COULD OCCUR. ONE BDF COAST GUARD VESSEL (GEORGE FERGUSSON) DEPLOYED TO PROTECT DEEP WATER HARBOR. CONTINUOUS RADIO CONTACT WAS MAINTAINED WITH TRIDENT AND CESSNA 402. BDF TRI-
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ACTION ARA-00
—————– 301015 162025Z /44/21
R 132126Z APR 84
FM AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 9607
INFO DIA WASHDC
USCINCLANT NORFOLK VA
COMUSFOR CARIB KEY WEST
JCS WASHDC//NMCC//
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 02 OF 02 BRIDGETOWN 02728
C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (TEXT PARA)
E.O. 12356: DECL: OADR
TAGS: TSPA, BB
SUBJECT: INCIDENT REPORT: UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS
LANDER AND ISLANDER AIRCRAFT AT AIRPORT WERE READY TO BE DEPLOYED, USING CIVILIAN CONTRACT PILOTS. WEATHER WAS UNUSUALLY CLEAR AND STABLE. AT 0700 HOURS, THE BDF WENT OFF FULL ALERT.
6. LTC REIMAN’S CONTACT WITH MAJOR ROBIN KEANEY, A RETIRED ROYAL AIR FORCE OFFICER WITH CONSIDERABLE EXPERIENCE, AND NOW OFFICER-IN-CHARGE OF THE BDF’S AERO SERVICES AT GRANTLEY ADAMS, REVEALED THAT BOTH HE AND THE RADAR OPERATOR (ALSO EXPERIENCED) SAW TAILS UP TO FIVE MILES LONG ON THEIR RADAR SCREEN. TWO COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT THAT CROSSED OVER BARBADOS DURING THE SAME TIME FRAME SHOWED SIMILAR TAILS ON THE SAME SCREEN. MAJOR KEANEY IS ADAMANT IN HIS CONVICTIONS THAT WHAT
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HE SAW ON THE RADAR WAS CONSISTENT WITH LONG EXPERIENCE IN EVALUATING RADAR OBSERVATIONS. BARBADIANS ARE ALSO
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CONCERNED BY THE PRESENCE OF A RUSSIAN CRUISE SHIP IN THE AREA. PARENTHETICALLY, WE HAVE LEARNED THAT A SMALL FRENCH AIRCRAFT CARRIER THE JOAN D’ARC IS ALSO OPERATING’ IN THE REGION.
7. EMBASSY COMMENT: AT THIS TIME THERE APPEARS TO BE NO GENERALLY ACCEPTED EXPLANATION FOR THIS PHENOMENON. SEVERAL PLAUSIBLE REASONS ARE OFFERED: IT COULD HAVE BEEN A WEATHER INVERSION OR SOME OTHER TYPE OF ATMOSPHERIC ANOMALY. AN INITIAL READING IS THAT THERE WAS IN FACT A WEATHER INVERSION ON BARBADOS EARLY THIS MORNING (APRIL 12) BETWEEN 4000 AND 5000 FEET.
8. ALTERNATIVELY, THE RADAR SYSTEM (OR OPERATORS) COULD HAVE BEEN MALFUNCTIONING. CONSENSUS AMONG BARBADIANS (INCLUDING PRIME MINISTER AND CHIEF OF STAFF) DOES NOT ACCEPT ATMOSPHERIC OR SYSTEM FAILURE HYPOTHESIS. BUT NEITHER DO THEY HAVE ANOTHER EXPLANATION. ONE ASPECT OF THIS INCIDENT IS VERY CLEAR: THE GOVERNMENT OF BARBADOS TAKES UNAUTHORIZED INTRUSIONS VERY SERIOUSLY. THE IMMEDIATE HIGH-LEVEL INVOLVEMENT AND THE RED ALERT STATUS OF BOTH DEFENSE AND SECURITY FORCES IS INDICATIVE.
9. A LOCAL BUGABOO ABOUT MERCENARY INVASIONS IS EASILY RAISED AND MAY ACCOUNT FOR SOME OF THE CONCERN. REPORTEDLY, SELF-STYLED “BLACK MERCENARY” AND GUN RUNNER SIDNEY BURNETT ALLEYNE (BARBADIAN CITIZEN) TWICE HAS TRIED TO INVADE AND TAKE OVER BARBADOS. IN 1976 HE WAS ARRESTED ON MARTINIQUE ON A VESSEL LOADED WITH ARMS HEADED FOR BARBADOS IN AN ATTEMPT - IT IS SAID - TO TAKE OVER THE ISLAND. AGAIN IN 1980, LONDON POLICE BROKE UP AN ATTEMPT BY ALLEYNE TO RECRUIT A MERCENARY INVASION FORCE. FROM THIS DISTANCE IN TIME AND PLACE IT IS DIFFICULT TO
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SUBSTANTIATE THE THREAT FROM ALLEYNE. CLEARLY, HOWEVER, THE GOB TAKES HIM SERIOUSLY.
10. ANOTHER INCIDENT MAY BE OF INTEREST AND CONTRIBUTORY TO THE GOB REACTION. ON THE NIGHT OF 22 JULY 1977 BARBADOS RADAR PICKED UP AN AIRCRAFT WITH AN ERRATIC
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FLIGHT PATTERN. TOWER ASKED A LOCAL COMMERCIAL FLIGHT (LIAT) IN THE AIR NEARBY TO INVESTIGATE. LIAT PILOT IDENTIFIED UNMARKED AIRCRAFT WHICH REFUSED TO ENGAGE IN RADIO CONTACT, SWITCHED OFF LIGHTS AND TOOK EVASIVE ACTION. LIAT PILOT ALSO OBSERVED THREE SHIPS BELOW, ONE VERY LONG ONE HE REPORTED AS AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER. NEXT DAY, COMMANDER OF THE U.S. NAVY FACILITY ON BARBADOS (SINCE CLOSED) INFORMED GOB THAT SHIPS WERE TWO SOVIET DESTROYERS BEING REFUELED AT SEA AS THEY EXITED THE CARIBBEAN AND THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS AN AMERICAN SPYPLANE.
FLOWER
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