Fighter jets for the Air Corps?

To the Supreme Court it goes then, the alternative is something the government just won’t accept.

Was that a block by the British government? Can’t see why the manufacturer wouldn’t have wanted some extra sales?

I have not read the book, but it depends on the time referred to.

In 1975, when we bought the Fouga, the Hawk was not yet in active service, and the Gnat & Strikemaster (Jet Provost variant, but armed) were being phased out. If we waited we might have been able to follow Finlands example and get a Hawk 50. Thing is then we would have been moving from a force used to operating UK built ejector seat equipped Jet Aircraft. The economy was on its knees though, and buying anything new was not feasible. Our recent entry into the EEC had also shown how exposed our seas were, and the money went to the Navy for 3 ships (and maybe 3 more) instead. It may have been that at that point, the exchange rate between GB£ and IR£ wasn't competitive.

Time was up on the Fouga shortly before they entered service. We finally decided to get rid of them in the late 90s, at which point Shorts were producing the Tucano for the RAF in Belfast (the Meccano as techies called it), BAE were pushing the Hawk 100 then, which was an advanced armed trainer.. EVERYONE within earshot of bal was hearing Alpha Jets Alpha Jet, Alpha jet. They visited so often there probably ramp crew already qualified to do preflight checks on them.

Problem we had was our basic trainer, the Warrior was also due for replacement, and one of many external consultants reports had recommended replacing 2 types with one, when it came to fixed and rotary wing training.

The hawk was, and still is too much to do basic flying training on. Same I guess with Alpha Jet. Great advanced trainers, both. Unsuitable for rookie flying.

Not surprising. We replaced a 1st Generation twin seat single engine jet trainer with a 1st Generation Tandem Seat twin engine jet trainer. The JP would have been a slight improvement, but most went to the UK allies in the gulf states. Interestingly, we would have used its propellor predecessor the Percival Provost during the 1960s and 1970s, until being repaced by the SF260W.

There may have been an institutional reluctance to continue receiving UK hand me downs in the Air Corps, hence the move to US made Maritime patrol, French helicopters and utility aircraft and a combination of Italian and French trainers. By the late 70s the only UK built aircraft in service was the "Government Jet" the HS125-700, compared to an air corps that up to the 1960s had used almost exclusively UK made aircraft.

I remember hearing about when a flight of Fouga flew a cross formation with the Aer Lingus 747 when Pope John Paul II visited in 1979, the 747 had to extend as much flaps as possible to get slow enough so the Fougas could keep up.

Given what was available at the time it was hard to get the logic behind the selection, particularly given as how Irish Soldiers in the Congo had been subjected to persistent attacks from the type 10 years earlier.

It was 2 x PC-12 light transport aircraft, single engine, turboprop, not a jet in sight. They deliver the mail.

Clearly not much excitement in Sligo normally.

"grunt...big iron bird try to eat me. me tell friend. friend work for ... raaay er... Dioo... friend say no look at sky any more in case iron bird come back"

"I tell ye Joe, growen men was weepin so dey was. Terry fyin!"

Of course, its a time of very disturbed global security and the distinct possibility of some manner of global level conflict breaking out on many and varied fronts, conventionally at least.

But the fact is, there are no Irish acquisitions, likely or even possible, such is the absence of the capability to operate them. Each of the three services has been allowed to dwindle to scarcely existing, so if we got a dozen or 18 F16s dropped off tomorrow at Baldonnell, they'd be some fancy paper weights for at least 5 years, assuming some effort was begun to assimilate them on Day 1, which in itself is unlikely.

And so the fast moving market in new and second hand fighter planes, among our European partners and NATO acquaintances, is entirely irrelevant to Ireland and will be for the foreseeable future.

Watching the recent TV series on the RAF didn't fill me with confidence in their abilities to protect our skies. Typhoon on QRA in the Baltic goes U/S during a shout, meaning pilot has to abort even leaving the shed, and they have to borrow a spare from the UK, leaving the other QRA aircraft to go it alone.

Crew so short of qualified pilots that the station commander has to put on the G suit and get current on the type again.

WO wandering around the base doing the job of RAF Police, making sure everyone is wearing their ID.

I think we need to be having conversations with the French. At least the French Navy are sticking with CATOBAR, so their carrier could operate Rafales off the west coast..And not be like the rest of europe grounding their F35 because it needs a software upgrade.

When you outsource security you leave yourself vulnerable to other peoples own failings....and with no way to fix those yourself.

Considering European NATO members have just committed even more airborne patrol squadrons of all types to the Baltic and tankerage to support them, I'd have serious doubts about that.

They have had units in Eastern Europe operating almost to a wartime level of operations or nearly two years now. We know that these tankers are relatively few and many quite old.

My point is, when are some of these scarce and aged assets going to have to be withdrawn for major overhaul and where is the capacity coming from to replace them?

My theory is, that the Western European coast is not nearly as well protected, in depth, as NATO might like.

Looks like Johnnys Favourite jet will be offered to the state this week.