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1/18 Further thread on Air Policing in peacetime and implications for Irish foreign policy: there are so many different options available for air policing on the market that to go into all of them is unrealistic and ends up in a 'top trumps' style contest. @BerryCathal @donlav


2/18 That’s before you get to the whole argument about twin engine vs single engine safety overwater argument. For now, it’s enough to put forward the options in broad outline.

Option 1: Surface-to-Air missiles only

This option is included because there’s always someone...

3/18 ...who will say ‘just get missiles’, because they think that this will be somehow cheaper. Modern long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems, however, are not significantly less expensive than fighter jets. They also have an issue in how many times you can use them.

4/18 They have an even bigger issue in that your solution to what may only be an airliner with a broken transponder is to blow it out of the sky.
@ConorHogarty @mupper2 @kevpipps

5/18 While there are many good reasons why the @defenceforces should upgrade its SAM capability, these are largely related to the blended warfare now being rolled out globally with the increasing use of basic drones and larger unmanned aerial systems. @conormlally @RuthMCasey