Originally Posted by
racedo
On what basis ? A Tu 142 has every right to fly off Ireland's coast as long it does not breach Irish borders, just like any other aircraft.
My own view on the whole argument for an interceptor is that it’s about air policing rather than old school ‘they shall not pass’ stuff. In this example, an Irish jet would replace the RAF one that goes up towards a non squawking, non talking aircraft in Shannon FIR and gives the ‘ aircraft at position xxx, height xxx, heading xxx please say your intentions’ spiel that you occasionally hear on VHF so that everyone else can avoid them.
There’s also the airliner lost comms/ damage assessment type of flight that are rarer. As the service to the state is currently provided by the RAF on a the basis of a bilateral agreement with the UK,
de facto, there is a recognised need for it at Govt level. The question is do we want to have sovereign control over it like nearly everyone else.