One of the Ukrainian pilots that was killed in action recently was 58! Quite why a Lt. Colonel in Ireland thinks he shouldnt fly because of his rank escapes me. Alt Col is middle management and such pilots continue to fly in the airline business, because it's their core job. As long as any pilot can pass his or her Class 1 medical, they should be on the flying schedule and not prioritising desk over cockpit. Fly less if you have to but still fly.
Something like a light fighter variant of the T-7 Redhawk which I hear is in the pipeline.
In fairness i'd say that's the kind of time span we are looking at anyway. We'll be lucky if we have any type of fighter before 2030
it ADS-B is messing with us lol
I see that Saab have lost out on their bid to provide Gripens to Canada who have decided to go with the F35 instead. Good opportunity for the DOD / AC to enter into a dialog with Saab to supply Ireland.
F35 main advantage is being stealthy and advanced systems that decrease the pilots workload but increases its combat effectiveness.
Not a fan myself but that the feedback. It's too expensive though.
Software and systems obsolescence seems to what's causing a lot of early retirement of aircraft.
The Gryphon modular systems are meant to be easier to upgrade. I think that's why it's being sold in such a variety of custom options to different operators.
Mig 29 are also notoriously short ranged and thirsty. They wouldn't suit us anyway.
What those modular mean here? It's actually easy to swap out electrics. Cpu Gpu Ssd Nvme all easy to swap out now days. Software is always changing. Is the griphen advertising something that is just the norm
Obviously isn't if they are retiring airframes early due to it.
One of the reasons they are looking to retire the older F22s as well.
F22 isn't for sale so it doesn't matter here
Also I said now days
Be a bad idea to ignore an issue/feature that has airframes being retired. Even countries that are not in NATO want to have systems that are interoperable with NATO systems going forward. So they can train and do joint exercises. So we should be cautious about taking old systems that countries with deeper pockets are retiring due to consolidating on type or newer systems/avionics etc.
I just mean it has no point been in 4th is conservation. As I under stood it was a comparison between new Griphens and new F35
This not *4th is*
Funny you mention F35
In an eyebrow-raising move, the U.S. government is planning to buy far fewer F-35s this year than anticipated. The Pentagon will purchase just 61 F-35s in 2023, a 35 percent decrease from its previous plan to buy 94 of the fighters. One reason for the procurement drop is that the government is waiting on the imminent release of Block 4, a major hardware and software upgrade meant to enhance the stealth fighter’s capabilities.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a39465052/f-35-orders-cut-by-35-percent/
Autocorrect on the mobile is a pita.
The make a big deal of the modular systems anyway. I've no idea of the reality of it as it applies to military systems.
Now that the British are out of the EU,
the nearest UN / EU compatriots that would be obliged to help or could help us would be from where ?
Russia attacks from the West….., Spain, France, Portugal, a Scandinavian country or two to get a few jets here, ? You’d be talking an hour at best from the alarm ? By my guesstimating…. A lot of damage to be done ….
would the US and British mobilise support ? , likely given the relationships between each other and the self interests it would serve for them.
is it likely to be required, no…then again, the statement from Russia re: expelling diplomats that it “ won’t go unanswered “… is a threat, not a violent one but not diplomatic and nothing is clarified… why not just kick out the Irish ambassador to Russia, a higher tariff on Irish imports…?
“wont go unanswered” is not diplomatic , it’s a threat… not one likely to come to fruition but a threat, and what have we got ?…
people Qing to get into the country, and eight of these… with which to defend the entirety of it, and us… good luck with that…
A joke Air Force...sad
No the Russian response is not a military threat, it’s a normal diplomatic response, most likely one of our staff in Moscow will be told to bugger off home and that will be that…
No, but they certainly should use more diplomatic wording then the ‘won’t go unanswered’ line. That is a threat, all be one not specific… Especially considering how the Ukraine are being answered themselves..more or less because they want to join an organisation.. and have more of a ‘western facing’ political outlook.
You don't seem to familiar with Russia.
https://twitter.com/umlandandreas/status/790286236078469120
This is a must read article..
no detection or defence capabilities…ZERO.
how the fûck does an outlier of an island nation on the periphery of this part of Europe, a strategic goldmine have zero capacity to defend itself against attack from the air ?
so arrogant, so incompetent on behalf of our political mercenaries in this country…”ahh sure, be grand”…
politly off getting photographs and dinner in sound byte city as we help thousands arrived here, commit to that yet they can’t be arsed committing to any sort of defensive upscale…whereby citizens here, wellbeing and so on get overlooked, again
i suppose no point in being able to detect a potential enemy if we cannot fight them …
First are you actually surprised by this article, there’s nothing new in it for anyone that has any interest in defence? Spoiler, we have never in the history of the state had the capability to control one defend our airspace, nor seas and never has the public given a shite. Mainly as the nation was so dirt poor through out that period and always because the politicians know there is feck all political value in spending on defence as the voters don’t care at best, hate it at worst. We all ready have some of our Left TDs screaming about defence spending and how that could be the solution to all other issues in the state instead, and voters will believe the likes of them.
How does someone not know this ...
Through the ‘90’s and up to about 2007 we were pretty damn well off.
what did we do with the money…, roads, some housing sure…. But in terms of doing anything for a bad day ? . tens of millions of funding for the GAA… but can’t defend the country ?…. Fûck all use spending millions on all weather pitches from Carrigaline to Clones that could end up with bomb damage because we won’t defend them.
I'm not sure all weather pitches have the strategic value you seem to think.
Not really no, up to the mid 90s we were still spending over 1% on defence, but again the size of the economy meant in real terms that it wasn’t enough. Through the 00s nobody in Ireland gave a shite about defence, apart from the left attacking Shannon. Again you seem to think this is somehow a new situation, not the same situation that has been the case since 1922. There was outrage when the new OPVs were bought for example with demands that the 30+ year old P20s be kept inservice instead.
it is sadly the norm, and even if the reported increases happen, fighters are still unlikely and well down on the list.
Not new, anybody can see that.. but then their is a slightly heightened threat and the actual priorities of our government are such that we are actually defenceless…
From the world bank… .we spent in Ireland .0287 % of gdp on defense, in 2020
more dangerous times, yet less arsed about defence.
