General
Are you expecting a homemade submarine in the Irish Sea? Or are we going to be threatening RN subs?
I guess to wargame her role, she could come up against drug and people traffickers, in MV Matthew or yacht Brime type scenarios. We also hear of homemade submarines involved in the drugs trade too. and in case where the smugglers are becoming better armed, there's no substitute for a big deck gun with remote FC
Not like they're about to take on the Bismark!
To be honest do they need anything much heavier?
No heavy weapons fitted yet? Are they going to just go with 12.7mm?
perhaps, however I wonder if politics will push for something earlier, I imagine they will want it visible before the next GE.
Afloat is reporting that P71 is meant to sail by the end of the month, targeting the 24th, so we might see some more info on their basing relatively soon:
https://afloat.ie/port-news/navy/item/63163-naval-service-set-to-introduce-first-of-two-inshore-patrol-vessels-this-month-albeit-on-initial-operating-basis?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3C3frA3y0ST65stpjDNNG39K00XB_txDaWU0iF2B_Zxgp_ZAvkXaAThvs_aem_AXZhgYnU3nNm3DGpWdcG4PbK2r0WnM8P69RMu2ocTskgLX5LXsS3y8r3Z0DlgfI4NdJh1EHjVlcOBYSc0UHF5-Ro
Yes indeed, I'm since informed the marquees are part of the shore based setup for tendering the Cruise Ships.
I see marquees and such erected on the pier, probably part of the recruitment events around the coast.
would assume nothing will happen until the IPV is operational.
P64 parked up in Dún Laoghaire today is it a sign?
Obviously the Carlisle Pier is available for secure resupply and any other task requiring a large dockside.
Who knows, maybe the Carlisle itself will be repurposed as a naval station pier. It was certainly suggested many years ago, around the time the masterplan to accommodate the HSS ferries was being drawn up.
As I say, I'm privy to the decision that has been made, not to details that haven't yet even been agreed between the harbour authority and the Defence hierarchy.
You're only a driver though. I don't think you need to worry about stuff like that.
I did surely. The combined torque of all of the boats secured on the various jetties, at max capacity, far exceeds that of one 340t vessel.
In any case, as can be seen from this image, the outer jetties have greater capacity and draft. I recall several superyachts berthing at the western end down the years, such as the Phoenix, which though shorter than a P70 at 40m, tipped the scale at 385t and had a much higher centre of gravity with all her luxury appointments.
It is not a problem.
I haven't a clue, I don't know how much of the detail has been worked out, but I do know the Council executive is examining the matter of competing demands on the 1845 built Coastguard station, either as accommodation and administration for the Navy, or as part of the national centre of excellence for sailing, which the Council is also anxious to secure with Sport Ireland.
Whatever the outcome I do know there are plenty of options to berth the P70s, as the draft of the central Marina is 4.0 metres and the 70s only need 2.9, so the possibility of using that in much the same way the Revenue Cutters do, certainly exists. It wouldn't take much imagination to isolate a section of the Marina and secure it appropriately, if one of the older piers isn't to be utilised.
That you've been told about.
The decision has been agreed between the government parties. DoD, DF and NS will be informed when at the appropriate moment.
The state has been trying to get out of legacies like that for decades (see the housing in the Curragh) besides which that’s a good way to blow a lot of money cause it won’t end at “frontline” workers, not to mention even within the sections you have mentioned where do you draw the line? Is it just newly qualified personnel? A pay threshold? Whether a person is married or not? Family accommodation? Support staff? Etc etc etc.
Either the state becomes a landlord for a huge chunk of the civil/public service or you have rolling industrial action as every section and subsection of the groups make demands on and on. And then you will get the push back from the non public servants…
The state should look at buying a full developments for front line workers such as HSE,AGS and Defence Forces starting out in there early lifes. It be simply a perk of the Job
no it won’t for a simple reason…It won’t end with just one block for a naval facility, the GRA have already been calling for it for the Dublin based members, how long before blue flue if the NS got such a facility and they didn’t? How long before the teachers unions or the nurses or any of the other far more powerful lobby groups demanded the same? At which point the costs dwarf any value of putting a facility on the East Coast. No government is going to open that can of worms.
The Ferry Terminal hasn't been sold, some of the internal space has been leased, the Council retain ownership.
Besides, I have it on the good authority of a certain Minister of State that the naval station is a lock-in for Dún Laoghaire, and will be announced at an organised visit of LÉ Aoibhinn, when she is operational later in the year.
The state could easily lease or buy an apartment block for personal to live in to help with the cost of living. It would be a lot cheaper than repairing 18th century building.
Do you think Dun Laioghre is not a runner?
Honestly, I'm fairly confident of the opposite tbh, its going to need some amount of personnel per base, and in Dublin you are still going to face the cost of living arguments. Will it generate any significant increase… Guess we will see in the 2030's.
If they want a 2k Navy they badly need to get the East Coast base up and running and even that North western base. The better geographical spread the better chance of getting personal.
If they had a base in Donegal they would have no problem getting crews from Sligo to Derry.
The 28th Battlion is proof it can be done.
Fair play for them getting out there, but if past performance is a guide to future progress, then the ambition to go from 730 odd personnel now, to 2,000 in 2028, is beyond fanciful.
better 4/5th year classes I would say, if it’s leaving cert unless you get them early in the year many will have already picked their likely third level/employment areas.
The Navy doing a reruitment tour. I hope every port they visit they have a leaving cert classes coming in for a visit.
https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2024/0505/1447427-navy-recruitment-drive/
No such thing as a stupid question, unless you're Jonnybigwallet of course.
But yeah I understood the plan was for a 30mm stabilised system with remote fire control and all that good stuff. But any such system would already be proven in the wider market and there wouldn't be a huge proving exercise required for use in the fleet.
Right now the P50s and 60s have the only armaments they are going to have in their service life, probably, and there wouldn't be much cause to make a change unless a missile system was to be introduced, which a) isn't on any cards and b) likely wouldn't fit without removing some current utility being removed.
The NS already has plenty of experience with electronic fire-control weapons in the OTO Melara 76mm on the above ships, so all in all, the adoption of a remote 30mm system for the P70s wouldn't be a complex process.
Very stupid question here:
Could it be possible that the P70s are meant to be a test bed for a remote gun system that is currently not in use? As in “evaluate the system’s performance before placing a wider order and rolling it out to the fleet at large”? Given the apparent restrictions on the Defence Forces’ current remote controlled gun systems with regards to naval use, at least if I’ve read this thread correctly, that would make quite a bit of sense to mine. Besides, the acquisition of the P70s would have given the opportunity to get such a gun system with relatively minimal scrutiny, since a lot of money had to be allocated to the purchase, transfer and refitting of the ships anyway.
As I said, this is likely a very stupid idea, but I’ve seen stranger things happen…
Unless of course said use involves actually hitting something.
There's a reason any live firing of the Rh202 you'll see involves very short bursts. It's a dumb bomb Vs smart bomb scenario.
The Rhinos are manual and not stabilised for a bow position, aren't they?
