Future of Ireland’s air defences up in the air

Ireland’s inability to defend its own airspace has been in the spotlight recently with the revelation that it has relied on the RAF to fulfil this role for the last 70 years.

This came in the wake of an assessment last year by the Commission on the Defence Forces that Ireland “has no air defence capability of any significance”. According to the Air Corps’ submission to the commission, the lack of an intercept ability is “a big gap in the State’s overall defence capability”.

Now, as the Irish Air Corps’ ageing Pilatus PC-9 aircraft approach the end of their lifespan, questions over what role, if any, the country should take in defending its airspace are likely to grow louder.

While their primary role is pilot training, the eight propeller-driven aircraft provide an extremely basic air defence capacity, capable of intercepting helicopters or small private aircraft but little else.

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In just under two years, they will reach the end of their 20-year service life, presenting military planners with a choice: maintain the status quo or take an expensive leap and buy modern combat aircraft.

Each option presents political difficulties. Buying expensive new aircraft to guard against an incredibly remote threat will attract significant criticism. But so will continuing to rely on the RAF.

The issue of replacement is “under consideration” as part of the “capability development and Equipment Development Planning (EDP) process”, according to a Department of Defence spokesman.

The simplest option is to buy more of the same aircraft from the Swiss manufacturer Pilatus. However, doing so will leave Ireland as defenceless as it is now. There is also growing reluctance among western militaries to purchase new equipment from Swiss arms manufacturers, given the stringent restrictions they put on end users as a result of the country’s neutrality policy.

The issue has come to the fore in the last year as various countries were denied permission by Switzerland to donate their Swiss-made weapons systems to Ukraine.

Ireland, which purchases significant amounts of military equipment from Switzerland, is subject to the same restrictions. Previously, it has had to seek permission to attach weapons to its PC-9 aircraft. It has also had to fly weapons to Europe for inspection under Swiss regulations.

The other option is to purchase a more advanced trainer aircraft, capable of limited air defence and of training pilots to the level required to move on to combat interceptors.

The choices here include the Pilatus PC-21, a propeller driven plane that can imitate a jet for training purposes or the Korean T-50 “advanced jet trainer”.

Both of these options stop short of the most ambitious recommendation of the commission: to acquire a fleet of combat interceptor aircraft capable of taking over the defence of Irish airspace.

They would, however, provide a stepping stone towards such a capability.

If that happens, pilot training will almost certainly be extensively supplemented by virtual reality. According to its proponents, the technology is already capable of training candidates to fly the most complex aircraft on the market, although most pilots will tell you nothing can replace the real thing.

It is also likely, given the tiny size of the Air Corps, that some training will be farmed out to overseas private entities such as the International Flight Training School in Italy or to foreign air forces.

The Air Corps has already sent pilots to Australia and the United States for basic flight training in recent years.

Of course, it is also open to Government to simply keep the existing PC-9 aircraft in service.

Although they are technically due for replacement in 2025, the Air Corps has through necessity become adept at keeping aircraft in the air long past their retirement dates. For example, the Air Corps’ two Casa maritime patrol aircraft are almost 30 years old and have amassed more flying hours than any other Casa in service anywhere in the world.

Each of the PC-9 aircraft are subject to ongoing fatigue monitoring programmes that may help to extend their lifespans. But the aircraft have a lot of miles on them, meaning the Government will have a choice to make sooner rather than later.

[ ‘I’m the only female pilot serving in the Air Corps at the moment’ ]