CONCERNS are being raised in West Wales after a community meeting was announced over claims that Aberporth has previously been identified as a potential Russian military target.

Campaign groups have circulated material stating that the Ceredigion site was included on a list of UK locations referenced by a senior Russian political figure in 2022, prompting calls for discussion about the risks associated with defence-related activity in the area.

Aberporth is home to West Wales Airport and a major unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) testing range, where defence contractors operate alongside civilian aviation projects. The site has long been linked to UK drone development programmes.

The issue has resurfaced amid wider geopolitical tensions and follows previous incidents in Welsh waters involving suspected Russian military activity.

In November last year, The Pembrokeshire Herald reported that a suspected Russian sonar device had been recovered off the coast near Skomer Island, just months after a Russian intelligence-gathering vessel was monitored operating off the Pembrokeshire coastline. RAF surveillance aircraft and a Royal Navy warship were deployed to track the vessel during that incident.

While there is no evidence of any specific threat to Aberporth, defence analysts have warned more broadly that modern conflicts increasingly involve long-range precision weapons and infrastructure targeting.

In December 2022, Dmitry Rogozin — a former deputy prime minister of Russia — published a map on social media naming a number of UK defence-related locations in response to British support for Ukraine. Among the sites referenced was Aberporth, due to its links with drone testing and defence contractors.

Security experts note that such statements are often political rhetoric rather than operational military targeting plans.

Nevertheless, the presence of defence-related infrastructure in rural communities can raise concerns locally, particularly when international tensions are high.

Campaigners argue residents should be fully informed about the implications of military-linked development in the region and the potential risks it could bring.

A public meeting organised by campaign groups is scheduled to take place at Aberporth Village Hall on Friday evening.

The Ministry of Defence does not comment on specific security arrangements but has previously stated that the UK maintains robust measures to protect national infrastructure and works closely with NATO allies to monitor threats.

Government defence policy documents also acknowledge that long-range missile threats and hybrid warfare — including intelligence-gathering activity near critical infrastructure — are increasing challenges for Western nations.

The debate comes as defence and security are expected to feature prominently in political discussions ahead of the next UK Strategic Defence Review.

PEMBROKESHIRE’S most famous unexplained event — the 1977 Broad Haven UFO incident — could attract renewed attention after US President Donald Trump said he would direct American agencies to begin identifying and releasing government files related to extraterrestrial life and UFO sightings.

In a statement on social media, Trump said he would order departments, including the Pentagon, to start “the process of identifying and releasing” files connected to alien life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and UFOs, citing what he described as “tremendous interest” from the public.

His comments came hours after he told reporters he was unsure whether aliens were real, saying: “Well, I don’t know if they’re real or not.” He also criticised remarks made by former President Barack Obama during a podcast interview, which sparked global headlines about the possibility of life beyond Earth.

The development has particular relevance for Pembrokeshire because of the Broad Haven incident’s proximity to the former military installation at RAF Brawdy, located just a few miles away. At the time of the sightings, the base hosted both RAF operations and United States Navy personnel, raising the possibility that any unusual aerial activity could have been documented and classified by the US military.

The 1977 case involved schoolchildren and adults who reported seeing a silver, cigar-shaped craft and strange humanoid figures near fields close to Broad Haven Primary School. The sightings later became part of a wider wave of reports across west Wales, sometimes referred to as the “Welsh Triangle.”

Although some UK Ministry of Defence UFO files have been released over the years, no definitive explanation for the Broad Haven sightings was ever provided. Because of the US military presence at RAF Brawdy, there remains the possibility that relevant records could exist in American archives rather than British ones.

However, previous US government reports, including a Pentagon assessment in 2024, stated there was no evidence that the United States had encountered extraterrestrial life, and that most UFO sightings were likely ordinary objects or misidentified phenomena.

Any future disclosures would therefore be closely watched by researchers and residents in west Wales alike, particularly given the historical Cold War connections to Pembrokeshire.

PLANS for specialist MoD air traffic radio direction finding equipment works at Pembrokeshire’s Cawdor barracks, where a ‘DARC’ deep space radar facility is proposed, have been submitted to the council.

Cawdor barracks, Brawdy, is occupied by the 14th Signal Regiment who are due to vacate the Barracks in 2028.

A formal screening opinion call, under Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, submitted to Pembrokeshire County Council by agent Montagu Evans on behalf of the ministry of Defence (MoD) has been submitted relating to renewal works to be undertaken to the air traffic equipment at Cawdor Barracks.

A supporting statement says: “The Ministry of Defence are progressing a full planning application with associated Environmental Statement for a Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) Facility on part of the barracks site.

“ This project has yet to be submitted for approval and is being brought forward independently of the renewal works to the Radio Direction Finder.

“The Cawdor Barracks airfield includes a Directional Finder (DF) which forms part of the service operated under a requirement from the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

“It forms part of the nation-wide system automatic triangulation and distress, and diversion network regulate by the CAA on behalf of NATS. It is located towards the centre of the airfield.

“The network of DF installations is a civilian rather than military requirement, and allows bearing data to be provided to the Distress and Diversion Cell at NATS Swanwick. This is a national service which locates and supports aircraft in distress and manages the diversion of other aircraft.

“The current DF equipment comprises a 0.5m cabinet for electronics, a counterpose mounted the building which holds the ultra-high frequency antennas and a mast upon which the antenna array of 18 antennas is mounted.

“The existing DF equipment is reaching the end of its operational life and must be replaced at a manner which allows for continued operations. It is to be replaced with a High-Resolution Direction Finder (HRDF) which is being managed under the Ministry of Defence’s MARSHALL programme.

The new equipment will allow signals to be received from aircraft up to approximately 90 nautical miles (Nm) from the site, providing maximum coverage of the area through including the Bristol Channel and St Georges Channel.

“The existing DF will remain operational during installation of the new equipment. Once the HRDF is operational, the existing system will be decommissioned and removed from the site. Works are to commence in early 2026 and completed by early 2027.”