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LAST UPDATE | 22 Jan 2022
RUSSIAN BOMBERS and naval ships are set to test missiles off the coast of Ireland.
The Journal has learned that the Irish Government has received a warning of a major exercise by the Russian navy and air force in the Atlantic off the South West coast.
The missile test, or range practice as it is known in military terms, will take place in international waters off the coast of County Cork in the first week of February.
The missiles are expected to be launched by ships and from aircraft although exact details are not known.
The Irish Aviation Authority has confirmed that it is to re-route commercial flights and issue a warning.
Exclusive Economic Zone
The area concerned is a relatively small area of water but sources have confirmed that it is within Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone – which is patrolled by Irish Naval ships and Air Corps Casa aircraft. It is located approximately 240 kilometres off the Irish coast.
An Exclusive Economic Zone is an area which Ireland has responsibility for and has rights to explore and operate in as a sovereign country.
“There will be a need to issue a notice to commercial pilots to warn them of this issue and there will be a closure of airspace.
“It would be expected from other European member states that we would be able to monitor these types of activities within our area of operations from both an environmental and a security perspective.
“A major oil spill previously occurred from a Russian vessel off our coast in 2009 and the Defence Forces were involved in monitoring it.
“But with no primary radar, a limited number of maritime patrol aircraft and the majority of our naval fleet tied up – it is very difficult to monitor anything on this scale,” a security source said.
The latest development comes as the Russian Government announced that it will carry out exercises with all its naval fleets across the world.
The State owned Taas News Agency reported that the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement that the drills will begin at the end of January and conclude in February.
The manoeuvres will take place off the coast of Russia and also in the Mediterranean, the North Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk, the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific.
In November Russia tested a number of missile systems including hypersonic and anti-satellite devices in space.
Russian bombers have flown above the Atlantic and down the West Coast of Ireland in recent years with the British RAF sending fighters to monitor the aircraft.
International tensions
International tensions between Russia and Western Bloc countries are at a peak as fears grow of a Russian invasion of Ukraine which is linked to the potential expansion of NATO.
There have also been accusations that Russian hackers had targeted critical Norwegian infrastructure in recent weeks.
Cathal Berry, TD, a former Defence Forces Officer, has warned in the Dáil of the danger of the Ukrainian situation for Ireland.
“This is a range practice. This is what the great powers do, the exercise is posturing and is about messaging directly with European powers,” he told The Journal today.
“The location is not an accident and has been entirely anticipated – they could be doing this off the coast of Murmansk but have chosen the Atlantic instead. There has been an increased number of incursions in to this area and near to Irish airspace.
“The concern from a military perspective is that an exercise is a very easy way to assemble large amounts of military assets into an area under false pretences and be a precursor to other activities.
“It is not unprecedented, but it is unusual to see it so close to the Irish area of economic responsibility.”
Deputy Berry said the potential threat to Irish sovereignty has been caused by an under resourced defence response.
“We took a gamble on peace in Europe, that it would always be there and we were wrong – a single event like this is the classic moment when the gambler has put all his money on one prediction with the consequence of potentially losing everything.
“Our navy is under equipped and undermanned, our Air Corps have no response capability but we will have to send out someone to monitor this when it happens.
“But the issue is we are the weakest link in European defence and this kind of incident shows that clearly,” he added.
The Department of Transport said: “Management of Irish Air Traffic Control Airspace is a matter for the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA).
“The IAA has advised the Department that the safety of civil aircraft operations will not be impacted by the proposed military activity, as all civilian aircraft will be routed away from the area.”
Warning
The Irish Aviation Authority has confirmed that a warning, known as a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM), is to be issued to commercial aviation.
“The IAA has been made aware via the normal international processes for such events in International Waters regarding a Russian navy artillery test 240 kilometres off the south west coast of Ireland in early February.
“An ICAO NOTAM will be published to provide notification to pilots of the activity. The publication of a NOTAM for these type of activities is a well established process which has associated Pilot and Air Traffic Control procedures to ensure that there will be no impact to the safety of civil aircraft operations.
“Although the efficiency of aircraft routing may be affected, the safety of operations within Irish Air Traffic Control Airspace will not be impacted, as all civilian aircraft will be routed away from this area during the activity.
“While not common, notifications for similar activity in International Waters within Irish controlled airspace are received from time to time from other jurisdictions and the same procedures are applied to ensure the safety of civilian aircraft at all times,” the IAA statement said.
The Russian Embassy in Dublin has described the reports of missile testing as “fake news” – they did not elaborate on the reason for this claim.
Concerns
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Saturday evening that it was aware of the Russian naval exercises and has raised “concerns” with Moscow.
“The location where the exercises are taking place is approximately 240 kilometres off the south west coast and within Ireland’s 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) but not in Ireland’s territorial waters.
“Under international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), states are entitled to carry out naval exercises in another state’s EEZ. The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) were informed of the exercise via standard procedures.
“In light of the current political and security environment in Europe, the Department of Foreign Affairs has raised a number of concerns with the Russian authorities and discussions will continue,” she said.
‘Hugely concerning’
Reacting to The Journal’s story, Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on defence Sorca Clarke said she is “deeply concerned” by the development.
“The lack of primary radar is the reason other state entities have been probing our airspace for years with high-altitude bombers and escorts. These foreign aircraft can see us but we cannot see them.
“While the 2015 White Paper recognises that radar surveillance is a priority, there has been no meaningful action by Government since then to deliver on it. Our Naval Service is now understaffed and under-equipped with no capability to see below sea level and normal operation of units is an ongoing issue.
“Our own Defence Forces staffing levels have been impacted by reducing numbers over the last number of years and it is an area of concern repeatedly highlighted by representative bodies.”
Clarke added that reports of naval service ships being anchored or running on skeleton crews due to severe understaffing are “hugely worrying”.
“International testing exercises, such as these latest reports from Russia, are placing increased pressure on our already over-stretched Defence Forces that successive governments have failed to invest in and support properly,” she said.
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Despite this $600bn spent on ‘defence’ annually in the USA…
@keenan, the US is the future third world.
We should build communal trailer parks and house the layabouts and scobies. If all the freeloaders houses were returned to the market it would solve a lot of problems.
Forty coats of tar and feathers for you sunshine
Anyone else think the two lads in the car look a bit scary?
The guy closest to the camera is slightly Christian Bale in the machinist…
So much for the American Dream!
As opposed to your Sinn Fein socialist paradise? Aint no dreams going to be made in that at all.
Would you prefer Fianna Fâils Wild West economics? That worked out great eh. Or the Blueshirts severe austerity and one of the worst unemployment rates in Europe. Don’t talk shit if you can’t argue an alternative.
“Blueshirts”… are you living in the 1930′s or something? Believe it or not but the Irish economy is stronger now than it has been in 8 years. Unemployment is falling rapidly and investment is rising. Let’s keep the “talk shit” policy to Sinn Fein circles
@Shane, what country are you living in. I along with others have emigrated and will never return.
Finally, Shane Sinn Feinn are not a socialist party, they are Republicans thugs masquerading as a party
dream on sheane. ya blue shirt
Jesus I thought these were photos of certain location in mullingar until I saw the caption.
should the article headline not read, “life inside a US trailer park”?
My God, the article makes these people seem like aliens and that the photographer got a lucky break to take the shots. I can imagine how annoyed these people were when they read the article. The photos are not very good either, bad composition, terrible lighting, etc. They look very unnatural and forced.
Unnatural and forced? Are we looking at the same pictures?..
Yes Paul Cadmin , I agree the pictures are terribly shot. Lighting is not on the subject and the posing of subjects is unnatural. Really poor and creates a miserable set of images.
“They took Errr Jerbs!”
Ha! If I could like this more than once I would.
Really great photography, beautifully captured. I particularly like the last one.
a price worth paying to keep the military complex going….murica fck yeah!
And you here to commit
It isn’t that bad, people in the usa spend their money differently to us, they eat out more than eat in etc & plenty of people in Ireland live in mobile homes. We have our own issues in this country without being smug and judging another one.
Do me babee one more time….
Ireland and most of Europe in 20 to 30 years time. A World that is over populated , poor, and Islamic.
Islamic? Will all the Christians, Jews, Hindus and Atheists disappear?
Muslim war will be won via higher birth rates. Not guns and bombs that’s just a side show.
Don’t look that bad
American Travellers.
Blaming the “Military Industrial Complex”. Is that the new buzz-phrase that Russell Brand has encouraged his army of trendy leftie keyboard warriors to use. You have the Che Guevara t-shirt, the Keffiyeh, and now you can have your very own simplified, yet intelligent sounding, phrase of the revolution.
Do people honestly believe that if America stopped spending money on weapons and defence that the myriad socio-economical reasons why people find themselves living in Trailer parks would be resolved? Lyndon B. Johnston attempted a “war on poverty” and invested billions in Welfare and Government Programs. And while many of those programs are good and help people, the reality is governments cannot prevent poverty.
Of course they can, and should, help the poorest, but just throwing money at the problem wont stop poverty. And using Government power (Or to use the euphemism of Leninist politicians “Workers control”) to impose “equality” has been shown, by successive failures in the Warsaw Pact nations, to be ineffective and morally wrong.
The reality is, governments should stay out of the “ending poverty” business. Instead, they should offer a minimum basic income and comprehensive voucher systems to the poor/people under the minimum basic income. They cannot simply direct an economy in any way they wish. They must allow wealth creators the freedom to create the the jobs, They must allow schools and universities to be incentivised to produce the best results. Simply put, the government should stay out of the way, only there to ensure the vulnerable do not suffer.
Great point tony. Unfortunately democracy dictates generally that the better off people dictate the health and education of the poor people. You could argue that government should just solely focus on economic and foeign policy and let the masses find their own way. Unfortunately though when a small group of elected people forget their people and focus on economic and foreign policies we end up with bazi Germany or Soviet russia.
There are also some very upmarket trailer parks filled with $200,000 motor homes and $100,000 trailers. That’s the US, there are rich and poor, just like here, and we give €700,000,000 to overseas aid for no real result.
How do you go from trailer parks to bashing overseas aid in one sentence?
Alice Cooper has kept himself in great shape
This is such a condescending insulting portrayal of life in a trailor park. Would have been better if one of the residents had taken this guys camera and turned it on him to see what clueless, sanctimonious privelage looks like. He brought a taxidermied fox?! Because trailor park trash sleep with wild animals?
Are they all inbred ?
have your say