Irish Commission on the Defence Forces has come up with three proposals to bolster the armed forces, the most ambitious of which includes the purchase of 12 to 24 jet fighters. The cost of such an effort is almost quadruple of the current budget (including other capabilities as well). This would be quite a turnaround considering that currently Ireland is the most thrifty of EU countries when it comes to military spending, with only 0.27% of its GDP allocated to defence. Standing up a fighter force of course is no trivial matter; at least some of the training will most certainly have to happen abroad as well. It will be interesting to see whether this proposal goes anywhere.
Government urged to purchase fighter jets to protect Irish airspace
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