BIKINI Alert States (most serious at top):

RED	Information has been received about an attack on a specific target. It can also mean "red alert", meaning the United Kingdom is at war, especially if there's a likelihood of a nuclear strike .
AMBER	There has been specific information received and there is a substantial threat to government targets. It can also mean "high alert", which could be a transition to war.
BLACK SPECIAL	There is an increased likelihood of an attack, but no defined target. It can also mean "potential terrorist threat".
BLACK	There has been an assessment made that there is the possibility of an attack, but no defined target. It can also mean "possible civil unrest", meaning safety can't be guaranteed.
WHITE	No information available about a specific threat. It can also mean "situation stable"

The BIKINI state was an alert state indicator previously used by the UK Ministry of Defence to warn of non-specific forms of terrorist activity, established on 19 May 1970. According to the Ministry of Defence, the word bikini was randomly selected by a computer.^[1]

It was replaced by a more general and public terrorism alert status, UK Threat Levels, an alert state system in use by the British government since 1 August 2006.

There also exists the TESSERAL system utilising the BIKINI scale, used to warn of a specific threat of terrorist use of arms jeopardising the safety of (normally military) airborne transportation. Since TESSERAL applies to specific threats, the WHITE state is not used. The scale is also used throughout the major UK government agencies, including the Home Office and HM Prison Service.

Current alert states were posted at the entrance to government buildings and military installations with respect to security and terrorism conditions. Whilst similar to the DEFCON alert states used in the United States, 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 was never used in the history of the system.

[edit] See also

• UK Threat Levels
• Homeland Security Advisory System (United States)
• Vigipirate (France)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• UK Intelligence Community Online, with reporting of current threat level
• (Redacted) Memorandum by the Ministry of Defence on Defence and Security in the UK (January 2002) discussing BIKINI states
  • Note: Annex D referred to in the above is redacted in its entirety
• A (redacted) Examination of Witnesses in the Select Committee on Defence discussing the costs of changes to BIKINI states
• Threat Levels: The System to Assess the Threat from International Terrorism