Interesting articles

Call it an intervention, but when several of our friends or states we enjoy good relationships with are pointing to the same issue, we know we have, or are a problem.

I suppose it is an issue that they have concerns about on their own patch as well given the proximity of China..

With Japan being a nation of several islands, no doubt they have subsea links to watch over as well

I would agree, its not academic. But diplomatically, and especially from a country like Japan, I just cannot see it being raised spontaneously, by them, in public.

Absolutely brilliant work, but lucky as well, but remember Martin as then Part Time saying that he wasn't going to be rushed buying equipment just because…

A position that clearly persists.

Not a bit of it! Bomber Harris to the rescue! 🙄

I have no doubt that the Matthew operation, in particular, contributed to the decision to buy the 4 x H145M with HForce tactical armaments system.

As we know, the government always have to be embarrassed into plugging capability gaps, so hopefully these sort of situations keep arising, where they are.

An interesting article on the impact of Iran's Ballistic Missile attacks and in particular the impact of the switch in missile types in the latter stages of the conflict.

Iran’s 12-day barrage launched over 500 missiles and 1,100 drones at Israel, striking five military bases and a key intel hub while forcing the US to burn through two years of THAAD interceptors — all concealed by strict IDF censorship.

In a revelation that has rocked Western intelligence and reignited anxieties in Middle Eastern defence circles, Iran’s relentless 12-day missile offensive did not just hammer Israeli civilian and industrial infrastructure but also dealt direct blows to at least five strategic military facilities, including a vital intelligence collection centre, as confirmed by The Telegraph.

This dramatic insight, reconstructed through detailed radar signatures and high-resolution satellite imagery analysed by researchers at Oregon State University, underscores how far Iran’s missile force has evolved into an arsenal capable of challenging even the world’s most sophisticated multi-layered air defence systems.

At the heart of this unprecedented strike package was Iran’s growing deployment of hypersonic glide vehicles (HGVs) and maneuverable re-entry vehicles (MaRVs) — next-generation systems engineered to pierce interception nets like Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow, and even the US-supplied THAAD batteries.

It reinforces the narrative that the impact of Iran's strikes were far in excess of what Israel expected. Israel is still keeping a very tight rein on any damage reports from military targets so any damage assessment, such as the one in this article are reliant on open source satellite imagery.

It also highlights the expense involved in maintaining any effective prolonged Ballistic Missile Defence. There are reasons that the Soviets & US signed an ABM treaty and whilst modern technology has increased the effectiveness of BMD weapons, it hasn't yet managed to shift the arithmetic in favour of the defender. In a prolonged exchange, the attacker has an advantage of at least 3:1 in terms of cost versus the defender.

A small economy, or indeed any economy apart from the US, China or the EU as a whole, cannot afford a sustained BMD programme based on missile interceptors. Perhaps as directed energy weapons become more efficient or even the holy grail of effective rail guns (Japan look like getting one in service soon) then it may shift the balance. But as it stands, in a prolonged exchange? The advantage still lies with the ballistic missiles IMO, particularly ones with MaRV or Hypersonic warheads.

They'll find some way to twist the circumstances to support their argument, valid or not. But honestly, I don't think tankies in the Oireachtas will ever recover from the savaging they got from the retired brass at Committee last week.

The new DCoS Support is Colm Ó'Luasa.

Although a veteran Cav officer, his most recent gig is head of the Transformation Office, which now falls vacant again until another officer gets up to speed.

The Mowag replacement should be interesting so.

I don't think any connection can be derived from the two occurrences.

If he was on the project group for armour, he will have had an influence. If he wasn't, he won't.

His appt now to DCoS Spt will have no bearing on where various procurements are at.

Hard to belive DOD still have made no attempt to transfer the barracks in Mullingar.

https://www.westmeathexaminer.ie/2025/07/09/council-moves-to-revive-columb-barrack/

Interesting developments in the Far East and in particular towards countering China. The Japanese are exploring the possibility of transferring Abukuma class destroyer escorts to the Philippines navy.

Whilst these are an old design, they are very much optimised for ASW and SSW roles. For the Philippines, the lack of any credible air defence on board would quickly become an issue if any conflict were to break out. Deck space means retrofit of anything bigger than a MANPADs is unlikely, despite having a fairly decent air search radar capable of target illumination.

The pressure being placed on Island nations to at least have credible ability to monitor and police their EEZ in the face of potential threat is continuing to grow. Moreso in the Pacific but we must surely read the room and accept that we need to look beyond the Sonar buy here in Ireland.

With triple lock still in place and the USA been advised by israel i can see Irish Troops heading home in september.

https://www.thejournal.ie/south-lebanon-unifil-simon-harris-peacekeeping-mission-renewal-talks-italy-6767358-Jul2025/

Wait till the far left and anti everything howl in rage without a hint of irony