Fighter jets for the Air Corps?

The fall-back is to spend on the radar, spend on a ground based missile system, and spend on a NATO standard intel/comms system that allows a freer sharing of data and intelligence, such that NATO can look after threats using land based aircraft, carrier based aircraft, and drones.

But the combat aircraft remain in LoA3 and the current target of LoA 2.5 by 2030 and a later move to LoA3 remains policy. So of right now, they are a longer term acquisition goal, once the defence sector is reformed and expanded, including some very basic systems and resources, without which buying jets would be utterly pointless.

You want to insert a Chinese built fighter plane into the middle of a NATO standard environment, as our military is revitalised under a structure of bilateral and multilateral cooperation with partner countries who are major NATO alliance members and western standard defence builders?

Jesus Jonny, even by your standards that one of the dumbest things I've ever heard, and demonstrates that either you think you're funny, but aren't, or do not actually have the first clue about what is discussed by the adults here.

A) Who cares

B) Yes, we are

C) I'd rather continue operating nothing than become some sort of regional pariah for allowing ourselves become some sort of trojan horse for Chinese defence tech.

Have you even heard the alarm bells rang over the last 10 or 15 years about Chinese made comms networks and IT components in European systems?

Boris Johnson may be a bumbling fool that brought the UK to the brink of self-destruction, but even he wasn't stupid enough to allow a deep penetration of Huawei tech into the British 5G system, and to further order any vestiges of Chinese networking tech to be stripped out of the UK altogether by 2027, given vulnerability it might cause in UK government, defence and national security architecture.

He did. The Tories initially allowed widespread penetration into the FTTC/FTTP and 5G networks, even with numerous warnings from various intelligence agencies, and BT.

They only backtracked when the American's pushed it, and threatened to pull out certain tech from USAF bases and block F-35 sales unless mobile networks ripped out Huawei kit which covered their bases.

It setback the 5G rollout about 2-3 years (if not longer). FTTC was a somewhat accepted risk, with a slower removal, and FTTP being able to absorb some of the losses, as it not being as mature of a rollout. The UK's centre of 5G research was essentially a Huawei lab for years. All that research and intellectual property was lost overnight.

It's still in the network and complete eradication is not due until 2027.

edit: conversely, it may also be one of the reasons Ireland will never get certain US tech also, Huawei is heavily used in the Eir network.

And why would they need to do that Jonny?

we were never getting fighter jets, this was pretty obvious, but we will get increased spending in defense, which is clearly good, and about bloody time to

The way things are going with Trump I see the EU getting closer to China. My enemy's enemy is my friend. No harm in getting a offer for a few they might throw in a maintenance deals and training too. Say 4 and wait for the Gripens?

If the US invades ireland we have nothing to deter or stop them it would be over in hours. We couldn't stop them even if we had a well equipped military. We are outside NATO and pretty much defenceless ourselves. At least if we had a well armed deterence force based on guerilla warfare a TA and regular training it might make them or anyone else think twice?

Well Ireland could join Nato, in a similar arrangement to Iceland.

Well Nato is multiple countries. Sure America is the primary defender, I guess Canada and a few other countries could provide some partnership cover defence, while the Irish military just does what it is trained to do, on a very small scale.

Trawlers and travellers…. the little known elite defence of Ireland.

In the same breath, Huawei are opening a production line in France for 5G base stations.

Nobody has suggested anybody is invading the Irish nation anytime soon. The government there is probably on the correct road with the investment. Supposedly Russia's security troubles may last for another fifteen years or forty years. And it could unlikely do anything, due to the small population, militarism would destroy the economy and the identity.

Iceland faces a worst threat with no military. It can occupied, it is more strategic than any actual reason.

Now to be fair, the mandarins of the department are still totally happy with our security environment, there are no risks at all, no problems, steady as we go…

Technical point, that's two different things. The Billion dollar bribe is if we want a permanent seat at this "board", otherwise the nations would be rotated off after 3 years apparently…