DF Commission Report

DF - "TPY4 fits all our requirements, we just need to evaluate a few others"

DF - "The Terma Scanter also fits our requirements, for a fraction of the cost, we are going to pick this very capable radar"

Terma - "this is a X-band radar and will be prone to rain outages in Irish climate"

DF - " it's PSR though?"

Terma - "yes"

DF - "3 please"

Serious piece of kit the TPY4, I'm sure there will be physical security clauses if they do get chosen. I just hope they don't go down the route of previous advanced acquisitions, which get left to go into dis-repair. I still think it's scandalous the Giraffe's were left to rot, they are a fantastic piece of kit.

It will require 24 hour duties for someone to pedal to spin the antenna.

More like Varadkar knowing that the overwhelming majority of Irish voters don't care.

We aren't even doing the bare minimum to pretend we are neutral and never have, its just the systemic unwillingness to consider defence spending in any rational manner.

Do we want to be taking advise from people who backed Brexit amd managed to Destroy the UK?

What about this fleet of new aircraft he mentions in the interview?

I think in the changing security environment where countries across Europe are having to up their game for their own security we will come under pressure because whether we like or not, whether neutral or not, we have a strategically important area and the reality is that our disregard for doing even the basics of patrolling and defending our airspace and our waters is a threat to our neighbours.

Every other country manages to do this except us.

We shouldn't be relying on other countries to have to take up the slack when an emergency happens or there are incursions in to our sovereign territory.

It's our responsibility.

Never mind the practical stuff - it's also about dignity and self respect as well. We are suppose to be a sovereign state so what the hell is the RAF doing having to routinely fly in and out of our airspace to see off incursions?

Why are we thumbing lifts off the French every time we need to evacuate Irish citizens from somewhere?

We should be doing this ourselves.

Do you not need both? One of the core reasons of the ships is to get personal joining from the east coast and not just the Republic of Cork.

The Minister said apart from DL they are also looking at other locations in Dublin. Would Dublin Port give up a berth space to the Navy?

shipping channel for Dublin port is easily avoided/navigated through from Dun Laoghaire. There are enough pleasure craft who do it on a daily basis. I'd be more worried trying to get out in a hurry while a boat race is on.

While I would reckon we are a bit away from an East coast 'base', I figure basing the ships in Dun Laoghaire would mean they would have ready access to berths and it is a harbour they are well used to. I do know they occasionally tie up in Dublin along Sir John Rogersons Quay, but the former would be more secure, but also another point is it would give the Navy a better identity and develop an 'ownership' in the community. While south Dublin may not be main demographic for naval recruitment, the harbour there is a major recreational area, visited by people far and wide and would ensure greater visibility and understanding on what the navy does, or for some, even that we have one. The quays in Dublin are a bit off the beaten track by comparison.

In terms of sleeping accommodation I would target CB Barracks, surely there are buildings there that could be repurposed or renovated? Strategically it could help kill off the proposals to close it down - it is only about a 30 minute transfer away. Real estate is a premium in either DL or dublin city centre.

Anyway apart from all of that, IMHO it will be important to get them crewed / operational this summer to avoid the inevitable claims of white elephants / waste of money etc. I suppose a commissioning / naming ceremony is the first indicator we will have of any progress rather than being mothballed ?

I dont know if a 45 year old fitter with no military background would be able to change his ways taking orders from a younger man or woman half his age.

Not stereotyping but the kind of lads we say the navy need are usually grumpy lads in a union. Maybe if they had Direct Entry warrant Officer ranks where there only job is to keep the ship working it would work but in a military setting would it be possabile to do that?

I've technical engineering skills that they're crying out for. Initially, when I looked into joining many years ago, I asked about training etc... from people inside, and they pretty much said you needed to be young and in the clique to advance in anything technical. I know someone who has applied for the Electronics Ord.Degree in Carlow, no less than 7 times over the years, passed the tests 4 times, and has been given all the excuses under the sun not to go. They are now trained of their own accord to a similar level, but it's not recognised inside as they weren't military approved courses... they will walk into a job outside of the military.

It's not just widening of the bracket which will fix things, the internals of the military are rotten.

Would I go in now with the skills I have, not a chance. Seeing things done properly in industry and having to go into a rotten understaffed core, where, because of rank, your opinion is easily over-ridden or not passed up... is my idea of hell... Corporations fail because of that type of culture.

Yeah its true, there has never been such a skills shortage in practically every sector of employment in the history of the State. Not in the Celtic Tiger, not ever.

The 6,000+ apps to AGS is encouraging, but the question is; of those, how many want to be a Garda as their first preference for a career, and are not just kicking tyres in many sectors.

Its mentioned in the article below from last year.

Interesting report from German - some has a familiar ring ...

German military still faxes documents and cannot radio allies, official warns Armed forces’ communications systems in woeful state and in need of ‘mammoth’ investment, says commissioner overseeing Bundeswehr As of the end of 2023, Germany employs 181,000 soldiers but 20,000 roles remain unfilled German military still faxes documents and cannot radio allies, official warns on x (opens in a new window) German military still faxes documents and cannot radio allies, official warns on facebook (opens in a new window) German military still faxes documents and cannot radio allies, official warns on linkedin (opens in a new window) Share Save current progress 100% Sam Jones in Berlin YESTERDAY 146 Print this page Radios that cannot communicate with allies; paper-only medical records that need to be mailed; military documents sent by fax, rather than secure email. The German armed forces’ digital and communications systems are in a woeful state, Eva Högl, the commissioner responsible for overseeing the Bundeswehr, warned on Tuesday. Her comments come a week after a Russian wiretapping scandal embarrassed military leaders and plunged the government of Olaf Scholz into fresh political turmoil. “This urgently needs to be changed . . . and it has to be done quickly,” said Högl, an independent official appointed by the German parliament, when presenting her annual report. “Why are we where we are? Because not enough investment was made in the past . . . we are now realising the seriousness of this.” Högl warned of a “mammoth” investment challenge still facing the German military two years after Scholz’s promise of a Zeitenwende — a major turning point — in German security policy, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. “The Bundeswehr is under enormous pressure,” Högl said, reeling off a list of problems caused by years of under-investment, from “mouldering” and “dilapidated” barracks to a potentially disastrous shortfall in personnel. The digital problems facing the military, detailed in the 175-page report, were particularly glaring: barracks and training facilities that have no WiFi, and in some that do, soldiers have to pay for its use. On one Nato exercise last year troops were using unencrypted radios from the 1980s that could not communicate with allies. Medical records are still kept entirely on paper — raising the question of how quickly doctors treating seriously injured troops on the battlefield could expect to receive them in a real war. This year Germany hit its Nato target of spending 2 per cent on defence for the first time since the end of the cold war, thanks to a huge €100bn special fund set up by Scholz’s government to pump urgently needed funds into military reform. The fruits of the additional spending are now beginning to be felt — although much has been allocated to long-term procurement projects. With the fund already due to be exhausted by 2027, military experts are increasingly asking what will come next — and pointing to huge capability deficits that still exist in German’s armed forces. “Getting the Bundeswehr fully operational . . . will continue to cost a lot of money,” Högl said. “The Bundeswehr still has too little of everything: there is a lack of ammunition, spare parts, radios, tanks, ships and aircraft.” The commissioner visited 90 different military bases last year in Germany and abroad and received statements and evidence from just under 4,000 troops. Alongside digital and communications problems, the commissioner cited recruitment and infrastructure as the two biggest challenges for the Bundeswehr. “On the subject of personnel, I have no good news and no good tidings,” she reported, pointing to the fact that Germany’s armed forces actually shrank in size last year, rather than growing as is urgently needed. As of the end of 2023, the armed forces employ 181,000 soldiers. Twenty-thousand roles are unfilled, Högl said. Recommended The Big Read Will Germany deliver on its grand military ambitions? Poor infrastructure hinders military readiness and also adds to the personnel problem, she continued, pointing to how unattractive most bases were as places for people to live. Money was only part of the problem in both instances, she said. Often German military bureaucracy and “sluggishness” was the more immediate challenge. At least €50bn is needed to be spent on upgrading infrastructure in 7,000 separate projects, for example, but the current military organisation responsible is only able to handle €1.3bn of projects annually. She praised raising investments that have finally started to arrive and lauded defence minister Boris Pistorius, who she said recognised the problems well and was working to address them. But, she concluded: “We do not yet have fully operational armed forces.”