Transport Aircraft

aircraft are selected, both FW and RW and due for delivery in 2025.

If you mean the Twin Otter, it departed to Albert and then St Gallen on the 27th.

EI-WST was operating west of Bal also yesterday morning.

It's a Tecnam P2006T out of Weston. High placed, twin engine.

Good man, thats what it was indeed.

My silhouette spotting talent has not deserted me after all.

The DoD already have a plan to evacuate the majority of the mission to RAF Akrotiri, if open warfare does break out.

Only a small complement of personnel will remain as observers and sentries to protect the hardware from falling into belligerent hands and being used offensively.

Every man for himself. More or less.

Yes it is, they're professional soldiers, it comes with the territory. It would be far more dangerous to let armoured vehicles and high calibre weaponry fall into the hands of belligerents. Not to mention the bases and obs posts themselves, which are in strategically important locations.

The evacuation, if it comes, will be aboard tactical military airlifters, from other contributors to UNIFIL or friendly partners like the RAF.

Not really.

Current GASU aircraft are maintained by external contractor. The helis only require one air corps pilot each. No air corps crew operate the sensors on GASU aircraft. Never have.

So we're going from 3 air corps pilots only needed for current GASU fleet, to max 5 on expanded GASU fleet.

I think we'll cope. If not, GASU may seek their own contract pilots. They planned to do this in 1997, but the DoD begged them to use the Air Corps instead.

Didn't they try a 3 engined otter once, in the 80s?

Its a garda aircraft, the role is Garda Air Support unit. They have to be Gardai. There is actually no reason the pilot needs to be Air Corps either.

Military can do all the surveillance they want in their own surveillance aircraft.

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All current GASU aircraft are on the military register, with military tail numbers, therefore the aircraft has to be piloted by Air Corps pilots. Of course there can be dispensations granted for short term arrangements (foreign NVG pilots for example). If it was a civil registered aircraft then sure, who can get anyone with a type rating to fly it, but that's not what we are talking about here.

The GASU set up is a marriage of convenience that benefits AGS more than the DF. They get a 24/7 base with full (most of the time) ATC and CRS service.

They get a pool of pilots who are bound by an interdepartmental SLA and who by virtue of their service cannot engage in industrial action.

They also, and most critically, get to operate in the grey space of military regulations as the aircraft are on a military register. So while the aspiration is no doubt to abide by "best industry practice", in reality, they can pick and choose how they operate and are self regulating.

The AC in return get a through put of pilots who garner significant experience in operating in a demanding single pilot operation.

As for resources, the article is correct. The AC hasnt operated a FW garda aircraft on a routine basis for circa 5 years or so, given the Defender issues.

They'll now need to staff a likely 24/7 multi crew roster in addition to the existing 24/7 RW roster and that's before you get into having potentially 3 aircraft on response at any one time.

Given the nature of shift work you'll have to plan for rest periods, annual leave, courses and the myriad of other military tasks that arise and crew accordinly. and because it is under a SLA, there can't be any penny pinching when it comes to personnel resourcing, so it will absolutely have a drain on the existing pool of pilots. You're likely looking at pulling 6-8 experienced pilots from other aircraft to staff this roster exclusively.

Wow

HOW **** DARE YOU SAY I POST A LOT OF MISINFORMATION?

Delete this line now Or I'll be seeking your details from Boards.ie owners to follow up with legal action.