Interesting articles

McEntee is getting Foreign Affairs, does she get Defence as well? I love how the IT doesn't even mention it.

They updated and yeah she gets Trade and Defence as well.

Welcome to the club 😅

How do you define Competent?

https://www.rte.ie/news/2005/1117/69862-dail/

I know few lads who thought a lot of Hugh Coveney as Minister for Defence.

Mainly cause he was at the battle inoculation, sitting in the trench with the guys, for the 77 Batt going to the Leb in 95. He had double hearing protection on when most of us only had peltors. The picture made all the papers and found it's way into a couple of court cases.

Mind you he did have field dressings over his ears at one stage till an officer sorted him out.

Oh, and he also asked a coloured chap from Cork who was with the battalion if he was in the right army 🙄🙄🙄

Did he threaten to shoot anyone who tried to move him? Or more likely a safe spot to stick him so he couldn't cause much trouble. I suppose the point is, the Minister has rarely driven things, we've had multiple years at this point with senior government figures holding the portfolio and that's achieved what?

Well if we are back to 2 P60's operational, we should be able to shadow her more effectively this time when we need to.

If it comes down the East coast the PC12s will also be able to provide overwatch but if its the west coast only the casas will be able to support the Navy

no they won’t, to be honest it was a really unnecessary soundbites from their minister that shouldn’t have been made, FFS it’s mild compared to what both sides got up to in the Cold War, you’d swear they had tried to shoot down the P8.

If they are that level of reaction from a laser god help them if there’s ever a collision incident like Ark Royal back in the day.

You would have to assume this wasn't any handheld laser pointer you buy from a tourist trap shop in Tenerife.

At a minimum we are looking at something military grade with at least short term debilitating effects for flight crew. The unusual strength of language here suggests something quite powerful.

I can tell you from experience the misuse of lasers to distract flight crew presents major issues and this is generally from Temu level tech with very basic capability. I suspect something on a different level was employed here to provoke such a strong verbal response.

I wouldn't downplay it at all, we could be in new territory with this. It wouldn't be surprising to see some brinkmanship over the next few days. Ultimately you'd expect a a Russian back down/rerouting.

It might just be time to explore upgrades from MSA to MPA spec for the C295 fleet, and indeed additional airframes.

I'm not downplaying it, just pointing out in the Cold War there were a lot more active levels of cat and mouse up to and including Aircraft Carriers bumping shadowing destroyers with loss of life. Did anyone run out to issue a press release each time?

Given the political issues and infighting engulfing Labour and Healy also using the same event to take swipes at everyone but Labour, while promoting the latest planned defence industry investment, it smacks to me of using a serious incident (no question) to play domestic politics.

As for out CASA's the DoD didn't even like them getting DAS, and thinks the idea of an Arrowhead for the Navy is too "warship looking", good luck trying to convince them to uparm the 295's.

There is of course the reality that if Yantar parked over a cable junction beyond the 12 mile limit, no Irish ship is capable of detecting anything they are doing, no sonar, no combat radar, no EM or other band detection. There'd be no legitimate reason to board her either.

That's why I think the 295 will simply have to give her a lot of attention, should she arrive.

Its a pity that only the U.S. within NATO has a weapon capable of generating a significant EMP, that isn't nuclear. One indirect strike from a CHAMP missile and the Yantar would become a 6,000 ton paperweight. A dark one.

Cathal Berry was on the 6.1 telling the whole feckin world that the Air Corps doesn't have a 295 MPA serviceable, one in Spain and the other under technical work in the Don.

For a fella that was a senior officer in the most elite, most secretive unit in the DF, he has an awfully large mouth.