The Bikini state was an
alert state indicator previously used by the
UK Ministry of Defence
The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is the department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by His Majesty's Government, and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces.
The MOD states that its principal objectives are to ...
to warn of non-specific forms of threat, including
civil disorder,
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
or war. Signs giving the current alert state were displayed at the entrance to government buildings and military installations. It was established on 19 May 1970. According to the Ministry of Defence, the word "
bikini
A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features two triangles of fabric on top that cover the breasts, and two triangles of fabric on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but exposing the navel, and the back coverin ...
" was randomly selected by a computer.
Whilst similar to the
DEFCON
The defense readiness condition (DEFCON) is an alert state used by the United States Armed Forces. (DEFCON is not mentioned in the 2010 and newer document)
The DEFCON system was developed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and unified and spec ...
(defence readiness condition) alert states used in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, the Bikini levels were defined by the section of the military or organisation rather than UK-wide, and as a result, countermeasures and reactions to differing states may differ as acutely as from building to building. The highest levels of alert, Red and Amber, were only intended to be maintained for limited times. The White state has rarely been used, and is only known to have been used for periods between the
Good Friday Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...
and 9 September 2001.
The system was illustrated in the British television drama ''
Threads'', produced by the BBC in 1984.
It was replaced by a more general and public terrorism alert status, the
UK Threat Levels
The United Kingdom Terror Threat Levels, often referred to as UK Threat Levels, are the alert states that have been in use since 1 August 2006 by the British government to warn of forms of terrorist activity. In September 2010 the threat level ...
, an alert state system in use by the
British government since 1 August 2006.
Bikini alert states
NATO military alert state
In addition to Bikini alerts that applied to individual installation
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
had a "Counter-Surprise" Military Alert System to mobilise its military forces.
See also
*
Handel (warning system) UK Cold War warning system
*
UK Threat Levels
The United Kingdom Terror Threat Levels, often referred to as UK Threat Levels, are the alert states that have been in use since 1 August 2006 by the British government to warn of forms of terrorist activity. In September 2010 the threat level ...
*
Homeland Security Advisory System
In the United States, the Homeland Security Advisory System (HSAS) was a color-coded terrorism threat advisory scale created in March 2002 under the Bush Administration in response to the September 11 attacks. The different levels triggered sp ...
(United States)
*
Vigipirate (France)
References
{{reflist
External links
UK Counter-terrorism site, showing current threat level
** ''Note: Annex D referred to in the above is redacted in its entirety''
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070611002249/http://security.homeoffice.gov.uk/news-publications/publication-search/general/Threat-Levels Threat Levels: The System to Assess the Threat from International Terrorism]
Alert measurement systems
Emergency management in the United Kingdom
Counterterrorism in the United Kingdom
1970 establishments in the United Kingdom
1970 in military history