Casement Aerodrome, Dublin – The Irish Defence Forces have taken delivery of a new multi-use aircraft at Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel. This new addition is the third Airbus C-295 to be acquired for the Irish Air Corps in the last two years.
The total state investment in the three C-295 aircraft and associated costs is approximately €300 million, a sum Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris has highlighted as the largest equipment acquisition project ever undertaken for the Defence Forces.
Speaking on the delivery, Tánaiste Harris stated: “The procurement of the C-295 aircraft and the Dassault Falcon 6X strategic reach aircraft, of which we will take delivery later this year, represents a significant enhancement of the State’s transport, airlift and medical capabilities, and is further evidence of the Government’s ongoing commitment to enhance the capabilities of our Defence Forces.”
The aircraft delivery coincides with a significant focus on maritime defence. The Department of Defence recently confirmed that it received approximately 300 submissions in response to the public consultation for the country’s first-ever National Maritime Security Strategy. This strategy is slated for publication by the end of the year and aims to map out Ireland’s approach to maritime security over the next five years.
A central priority of the new strategy is the protection of subsea infrastructure. Ireland’s vast maritime area, which is seven times its land area, hosts the majority of transatlantic data communications, including the undersea cables that support global banking and major internet services.
A key emerging threat being addressed is the operation of the so-called ‘shadow fleet’ vessels within Irish waters. These vessels, many of which are Russian-affiliated, poorly maintained, and uninsured, are used to export Russian oil and circumvent Western sanctions imposed due to the war in Ukraine. The Irish Air Corps’ maritime security units are routinely monitoring the behaviour of these vessels in Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) due to the serious environmental risks and their role in undermining international sanctions efforts.
