DOPPELADLER.COM

Ireland is to spend tens of millions of euro on a new anti-aircraft missile system for the Defence Forces, it has emerged.

Sources say the final cost of the system – which will be expected to have the capability to blast targets out of the sky up to a range of 40km – is likely to be as much as €100million.

"For our needs, the system would probably cost between €50million to €100million," a senior source told The Irish Mirror.

The planned air defence system is part of the Government’s plan of around €300million to establish Ireland’s first military radar system. At present, Ireland has no way of knowing what planes are in our skies if they turn off their transponders that allow them to be detected by the state’s civilian radar scheme. That means we can’t track foreign military aircraft - or even planes that are trying to smuggle in drugs - if they turn off the transponders.

The government is planning to fix that by buying a military – or primary – radar system. It had been thought the system would only allow the Defence Forces to spot aircraft in Irish skies – but take no action against them as the Air Corps have no jets that can intercept targets. But Tánaiste Micheal Martin, who is Minister for Defence as well as Foreign Affairs, has now told the Dail the new radar system will have an air defence element.

He made the revelation in recent days in a written answer to former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who wanted to know if the State had examined whether Northern Ireland being part of a new Europe-wide anti-aircraft defence scheme called European Sky Shield Initiative, or ESSI, would leave the rest of Ireland vulnerable. The ESSI sees an integrated network of anti-aircraft missile systems from Turkey to the north – but the Tánaiste confirmed to Mr Varadkar Ireland has not been invited to take part in it.

But he added: "Department officials are considering ESSI and other European developments regarding Air and Missile Defence while focusing on developing Ireland’s own capabilities in this area.

We have established that work is now under way to buy a system – and it is likely to be operational in 2028 – the same timeframe for the new military radar.

Ireland has had no functioning aircraft system for at least two years. The Defence Forces does have a Swedish-made Saab RBS-70 missile system – with a range of 5km – but we reported in April 2023 that the military could not deploy it for the visit of US President Joe Biden because the Giraffe radar it uses was broken.

Now the government plans to overhaul the entire air defence system – and buy a new missile system. One likely candidate, sources have said, is an upgraded version of the RBS-70. The RBS-23 also uses a modern Giraffe radar system – but has a much longer range than the RBS-70. It can reach an altitude of 15km – or almost 50,000ft – as well as a range of 20km.

That would cost around €100million for the unit, radar and missiles, sources say. As well as taking out planes, it can also hit drones and even cruise missiles. Another possibility is the French-made VL-MICA, but that would be more expensive, around €150million.

A Department of Defence briefing paper, seen by The Irish Mirror, says progress has been made on the scheme, but concedes it will be expensive.

It reads: "A civil / military project team are continuing their work of research into various delivery options as well as determining the appropriate procurement strategy for the military radar programme. Governance structures to manage this programme of work are also in place. Significant progress has been made to date but we are still at the early stages of this project.

"In line with Infrastructure Guidelines, it is expected that the requirement phase will be completed by the end of 2024.

"This will be an expensive capability to deliver and maintain and before any spending commitments are made the full rigour of the Public Spending Code/Infrastructure Guidelines must be applied to ensure that the taxpayer gets best value for money."

The Swedish Defence Material Administration (FMV) has placed an order for series production of the Air Defence missile system BAMSE for the Swedish defence forces. The order was placed after a period of in-depth evaluations regarding the further development potential of the system to futuristic threats.

An order for the development of RBS 23 BAMSE was placed with the then Bofors Missiles in May 1993, and series produced firing units and missiles will be delivered to the defence forces early in the year 2003.

I wish to assure the Deputy, however, that Department officials are considering ESSI and other European developments regarding Air and Missile Defence while focusing on developing Ireland’s own capabilities in this area. Work on the development of military radar capabilities is underway by my Department. This is an ambitious and complex programme of three related air defence and radar projects (collectively termed the Military Radar – Recognised Air Picture Programme) which will contribute to the establishment of a Recognised Air Picture as follows:

• Land based Long Range Primary Radar;

• Ground Based Air Defence System (to include Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems capability);

• Maritime Ship Borne Radar System.

Also related to LOA 2 for the Air Corps is the Military Radar Programme which was established in response to the recommendation for the establishment of a Recognised Air Picture for Ireland. This Programme which is made up of Long Range Primary Radar, Ground Based Air Defence Systems and Maritime (ship-borne) Radar is of significant importance and has been prioritised. Work is ongoing and good progress is being made.

theoderich hat geschrieben: ↑Mo 24. Feb 2025, 18:38

The Government is to donate a substantial portion of Ireland’s ageing air defence systems to protect towns and small cities in Ukraine as Russia’s invasion enters its fourth year.

The transfer of the Giraffe Mark IV radar systems forms part of the Government’s commitment to assist Ukraine with non-lethal military equipment and training.

Official sources said on Sunday the move was intended to show “continued solidarity” with Ukraine at a time when the government of Volodymyr Zelenskiy is coming under pressure from the Trump administration in Washington, which wants to reach a deal with Russia on ending the war.

The Department of Defence said it is continuing to engage with Ukrainian authorities in relation to the provision of non-lethal assistance, by reference to the Ukrainian armed forces’ identified needs.

“In terms of the Giraffe system, we are waiting on arrangements with the Ukrainian armed forces in relation to their acceptance of the systems and the provision of training.”

The transfer of the Giraffe Mark IV radar systems to the Ukrainian armed forces will open up a capability gap in Ireland’s already minimal air defences.

Plans to replace the radars with modern systems are under way but it will likely be several years before they are operational.

Ireland possesses seven of the Giraffe systems. It has not yet been determined if all are to be donated. Sources said at least three are to be handed over.

The Defence Forces are making final preparations to ship the equipment to Ukraine and are awaiting final Government approval, which is expected shortly. A Defence Forces training team will also accompany the systems to instruct Ukrainian troops on their use.

The short-range radar systems, which are operated by the Defence Forces artillery section, were acquired in 2008 in response to a need to protect visiting dignitaries and summit meetings from possible airborne terrorist attacks.

They are linked to ground-to-air missile launchers. However, in line with the Government’s policy of only supplying non-lethal military aid, the associated missile systems are not being donated.

The Minister for Defence, Helen McEntee TD, has today (16 December) announced that the Preliminary Business Case for the Military Radar Programme (MRP) has been approved.

The Minister briefed the Government today on the progress made following the assessment of potential options for delivery of the MRP, which concluded that a Government-level approach with one country was the preferred option.

The Minister has said that her Department will now immediately commence detailed negotiations with France on a potential agreement for the delivery of all capability requirements under the Programme.

“Separately, my Department is in final negotiations to conclude a contract before the end of the year to provide Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) capabilities to the Defence Forces in advance of the EU Presidency.

2. There are three elements to the Military Radar Programme:

• Land based Long Range Primary Radar;

• Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) systems, to include a Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) capability;

• Maritime (ship-borne) Radar.

The French proposals are coordinated by Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA), which is the procurement arm of the French Ministry of Armed Forces. The DGA steers the provision of French support in the form of similar type approaches to other partner countries.

All procurement under the Military Radar Programme will be conducted in accordance with EU Directives on Defence Procurement.

Total projected costs associated with delivery by the end of 2028 will not be fully ascertained until the Final Business Case stage. However, all proposed expenditure arising from this Programme will be met from within the capital allocations announced last week as part of the National Development Plan.

• The key Government capital priority for the Defence sector for the period of this plan is the delivery of the Military Radar Programme.

  https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/ ... w_2025.pdf

There are three elements to the Military Radar Programme: Land based Long Range Primary Radar; Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) systems, to include a Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) capability; and Maritime (ship-borne) Radar.

When fully delivered, the Recognised Air Picture will incorporate this suite of military radar systems; which will have the capability to detect all aircraft traversing our airspace including any that may be operating with their transponders turned off.

Full delivery of the Programme will be complex; but has been prioritised with a target date of 2028 identified in the Detailed Implementation Plan. That being said, elements of this capability will be rolled out in phases, starting in 2026, towards full delivery by the end of 2028.

My Department has engaged with a number of countries, including all EU Member States, to ascertain their interest in supporting Ireland to deliver this capability.

Based on the responses received, my officials commenced bi-lateral discussions with a small number of countries earlier this year, with a view to assessing options for delivery. This phase has concluded and a decision on this is imminent.

The requirements for delivery of military radar, across the various domains, including primary radar, are extremely complex and clearly this will be an expensive capability to deliver and maintain. However, all capital expenditure associated with delivery of this Programme will be met from within the capital allocations for 2026-2030, which were recently agreed as part of the review of the National Development Plan. Given the critical stage we are now at in this phase of the Programme, it would be premature to make any further comment on the likely costs involved, at this time.