Fighter jets for the Air Corps?

It was Switzerland

These are clearly supplementary orders, and as far as the European operators are concerned, they are all NATO members. Why would/should Ireland have been involved and, anyway, what would we do with them?

Absolute crate the F-35.

The Americans are falling over themselves now ordering hundreds of F-15 EX Eagle II's for Air Force and Air National Guard Units, which would be the air superiority fighter to win any large complex conventional international war. And it would win.

They're big, fast and teak tough and most importantly, proven.

Keep your 5th Gen show ponies, I'll take 500 XEs and 500 F16Vs any day and leave the strategic stuff to stand off smart weapons.

The numbers have gone down and up everytime I read something on them. They are basically trying to pull finding from one aircraft program to pay for rising costs of other big ticket programs.

Which is the same as every type, nothing to do with the 35 explicitly. You can see that with early F22s compared to later builds, or the Tranche 1 Typhoons compared to Tranche 2 and 3s hence why you see attempts to decommission said early lots by their users and replace them either with alternatives (F22 since the build was so small) or later Tranches (Spain and Germany for example), or reducing numbers like the RAF, or selling off earlier “orphans” like the French. And that’s just “current” designs

The F35 has many problems but don’t act like all of them are unique to it.

Not true at all, the early 22s systems aren’t compatible in terms of spares with the later versions and can’t be economically brought up to the same standard, same for the T1 Typhoons. It’s not a new issue, virtually every airframe has the same problems from first production lots to later ones as supply chains change.

There a real hard on for the F35 on this forum, where only the latest and the greatest is good enough. I get that we are told its its a force multiplier, in invisible self driving and fighting Telsa in the air. But it been a real problem child. As aircraft programmes go its been one of the worst.

https://www.extremetech.com/defense/320295-the-us-air-force-quietly-admits-the-f-35-is-a-failure

Or alternatively, those nations now locked in to F-35 will mothball their outgoing fighters just in case the Lightning IIs don't start of a cold morning.

Like in Finland.....

F35 is a complete non starter for the AC. Too damned expensive. And has been plagued with problems. Over complex if you ask me!

I think if you look back over previous posts the Gripen is the aircraft of choice by far

The changing the engine section is a combination of the issues it has and the basic need for sustaining the R&D and industrial base to create the next gen engines, I wouldn’t be surprised if the new engine for the 35 will end up being a bridging design and development for the Sixth gen fighter engine.

Just for balance....

And who exactly is suggesting we would? I mean there’s the whole other question of what we could sustain if we were spending anything close to sensible on defence of course, it right now nobody is even close to supporting a basic capability for the AC let alone a fifth gen fighter like the 35?

Frankly I have no idea why it’s even a topic for discussion?

When you say it's a fighter what do you mean?

Are you suggesting Ireland should not get a multi role aircraft?

Taken from the article:

The secret agreement required the consent of the Irish government before any action would be taken. One source described it as not a formal treaty but as a “memorandum of understanding”.

So a passenger jet loses contact 200km of the west coast and the UK will have time to get aircraft here to intercept and the lads in the dail will give consent in that time. Like FU@k that would happen in time. By the time they all have the chat some small town will be gone