Ireland Considers Purchase of AD Fighters
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Thread Starter
Ireland Considers Purchase of AD Fighters
Ireland considers the purchase of air combat interceptors ? Alert 5
Ireland considers the purchase of air combat interceptors
The Irish Defence Forces have published its Equipment Development Plan 2020-24 document and the military is considering the purchase of air combat interceptors. The program is still at pre-planning stage and the consideration will be dependent on additional funding.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/irel...raft-1.4289801
Ireland considers the purchase of air combat interceptors
The Irish Defence Forces have published its Equipment Development Plan 2020-24 document and the military is considering the purchase of air combat interceptors. The program is still at pre-planning stage and the consideration will be dependent on additional funding.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/irel...raft-1.4289801
As Ireland's need would be purely defensive and to remain clear of the political consequences of being overtly tied to the UK or US, I would have thought that the natural choice would be to lease a number of Saab Gripens from Sweden, another neutral EU Member State.
Gripen is also cleared against the A310MRTT for AAR, so perhaps Omega Air might consider taking over a couple of Luftwaffe tanker transports when they leave service in the next couple of years? I'm sure Ulick could negotiate a good deal!
Gripen is also cleared against the A310MRTT for AAR, so perhaps Omega Air might consider taking over a couple of Luftwaffe tanker transports when they leave service in the next couple of years? I'm sure Ulick could negotiate a good deal!
"In 2017, Fianna Fáil Senator Mark Dalynoted in the Dáil that the public would “abhor spending €50 million or €100 million on jets that would have no real value in the long run”."
now that's what I call an optimist................ what would you get for 100 million euros??
now that's what I call an optimist................ what would you get for 100 million euros??
Can't see them spending the money though to do this though.......and I'm surprised they even feel the need to bring the subject up?
It is a no chance.
New Govt just formed which includes the Greens and they know they heading into a huge recession and also Brexit.
A kite is being flown and it will come crashing down as no way €1 billion will be chucked at it.
Republic of Ireland has zero enemies so why spend to enrich lots of middlemen.
New Govt just formed which includes the Greens and they know they heading into a huge recession and also Brexit.
A kite is being flown and it will come crashing down as no way €1 billion will be chucked at it.
Republic of Ireland has zero enemies so why spend to enrich lots of middlemen.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Thread Starter
If they ever got over their irrational rejection of th3 idea they could join NATO and, as with Iceland, the Baltic states, Rumania etc, have a rotating allied fighter detachment holding QRA. Radar and QRA on the periphery are after all, just about the main NATO Taison d’etre. They might even get a rotating detachment of a mobile CRC.
p.s. What’s wrong with Shannon?
p.s. What’s wrong with Shannon?
Last edited by ORAC; 28th Jun 2020 at 10:12.
Won’t happen
This is just the Air Corps (It’s not an air force) seeing a Brexit related opportunity.
The general public in Ireland is fairly ‘anti’ anything perceived as militaristic. They support the Naval Service because of fisheries protection, S&R etc, but a flight of F16s or similar would go down like a lead balloon.
The general public in Ireland is fairly ‘anti’ anything perceived as militaristic. They support the Naval Service because of fisheries protection, S&R etc, but a flight of F16s or similar would go down like a lead balloon.
They can't even provide night fixed wing aeromedical capability.
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While it would be great to see the Defence Forces in general and the Air Corps in particular get the funding needed to upgrade and bring it in line with other western counties, the reality is that’s a long way off.
Ireland currently spends just under 0.3% of GDP on defence (The Irish Times, Oct 2019; https://www.irishtimes.com/news/irel...2020-1.4043884 ) . The Army, Naval Service and Air Corps are all reported as under strength (The Irish Examiner, Aug 2019; https://www.irishexaminer.com/breaki...es-946626.html ).
There has been spending recently to upgrade equipment, 4 new vessels for the Naval Service at around €75m per ship, arrived between 2011 & 2018 (increasing the overall fleet size by 1), and planned refitting of the Rósin class vessels at about €250,000 each, however, the service is unable to put one vessel within the fleet to sea due to crew shortages. The Air Corps has 4 PC-12’s ordered (1 has arrived) for ISTAR and support ops costing around €32m, replacing Reims/Cessna 172’s and there’s an expectation that the Casa C235’s will be replaced soon too.
We’ve recently seen Naval Service extending beyond the EEZ, supporting overseas deployment of the Army on UN missions and in the Med as part of the Italian Operation Pontus and the EU Operation Sophia. The Air Corps has also recently started small scale transport ops in support of the Army’s UN operations.
While the PC-9’s were purchased with an eye to being a step to FJ ops, there’s no support infrastructure within the IAC for that, no Air Defence radar for example and the question of where the aircraft and their support services would be based would need to be considered (not much point in them being on the east coast in Casement and having to toodle along sub-sonic from Dublin when trying to intercept a target along the Atlantic seaboard).
Unlike countires such as the UK or US, in Ireland, there's no votes in bigging up the military. The position express by meleagertoo is very commonly held.
I suspect it's unlikely to come to anything
JAS
Ireland currently spends just under 0.3% of GDP on defence (The Irish Times, Oct 2019; https://www.irishtimes.com/news/irel...2020-1.4043884 ) . The Army, Naval Service and Air Corps are all reported as under strength (The Irish Examiner, Aug 2019; https://www.irishexaminer.com/breaki...es-946626.html ).
There has been spending recently to upgrade equipment, 4 new vessels for the Naval Service at around €75m per ship, arrived between 2011 & 2018 (increasing the overall fleet size by 1), and planned refitting of the Rósin class vessels at about €250,000 each, however, the service is unable to put one vessel within the fleet to sea due to crew shortages. The Air Corps has 4 PC-12’s ordered (1 has arrived) for ISTAR and support ops costing around €32m, replacing Reims/Cessna 172’s and there’s an expectation that the Casa C235’s will be replaced soon too.
We’ve recently seen Naval Service extending beyond the EEZ, supporting overseas deployment of the Army on UN missions and in the Med as part of the Italian Operation Pontus and the EU Operation Sophia. The Air Corps has also recently started small scale transport ops in support of the Army’s UN operations.
While the PC-9’s were purchased with an eye to being a step to FJ ops, there’s no support infrastructure within the IAC for that, no Air Defence radar for example and the question of where the aircraft and their support services would be based would need to be considered (not much point in them being on the east coast in Casement and having to toodle along sub-sonic from Dublin when trying to intercept a target along the Atlantic seaboard).
Unlike countires such as the UK or US, in Ireland, there's no votes in bigging up the military. The position express by meleagertoo is very commonly held.
I suspect it's unlikely to come to anything
JAS
Last edited by Just a spotter; 28th Jun 2020 at 20:34.
Last edited by Easy Street; 28th Jun 2020 at 14:09.
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There is no threat really
Except for the Russians might invade Ireland and use it as a staging post to invade the UK like the Germans planned in the war , which is unlikely
I think most of the Irish are willing to have the UK and France defend them when required.
The exception to most Irish would be the IRA , sorry Sinn fein who hate everything thing British and would welcome everyone including the Mysterons if they thought it would further their cause.
So I just think it's one of the election time things to reassure the locals the government cares.
Except for the Russians might invade Ireland and use it as a staging post to invade the UK like the Germans planned in the war , which is unlikely
I think most of the Irish are willing to have the UK and France defend them when required.
The exception to most Irish would be the IRA , sorry Sinn fein who hate everything thing British and would welcome everyone including the Mysterons if they thought it would further their cause.
So I just think it's one of the election time things to reassure the locals the government cares.
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