New military airplane spent 40% of last year in Spain
By Cillian Sherlock, PA
One of the Defence Forces’ newest aircraft spent almost 40 per cent of the last year undergoing maintenance in Spain.
The Irish Air Corps received two Airbus C295 maritime surveillance aircraft in 2023 at a cost of €230 million, including funding for associated training.
At the time, the now-outgoing Defence Forces Chief of Staff Sean Clancy said the aircraft provided a “step-change” in surveillance capabilities, with shallow-water mapping and enhanced data gathering through real-time imaging.
He said the two aircraft were part of the response to growing and more advanced threats operating at sea.
He said: “Everything from cartels trying to find weak spots in terms of people, drugs and trafficking which are counter to our norms and values and threaten the sovereignty of our state and every other state on the western shoreline of Europe, which is where they are probing those soft spots.”
Less than two years later, one of the aircraft has spent 20 weeks in Seville, Spain, where Airbus has a base.
Flight tracking websites say that the C295 had been in Seville from November 14th 2024 until its return to Casement Aerodome, Baldonnel on April 3rd last week.
This 140-day spell accounts for roughly 38 per cent of a year.
Asked about the more than four-month period in Spain, the Defence Forces said the plane was undergoing scheduled maintenance.
A spokesman said: “Airbus C295 aircraft IRL284 was positioned at a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in Seville to undergo scheduled maintenance in accordance with contractual arrangements with the manufacturer.”
Asked how often the C295 would be non-operational, the Defence Forces refused to comment on the specific maintenance schedule of the aircraft.
Sources with relevant expertise said that the maintenance period was normal under routine inspections and airworthiness requirements due every couple of years.
However, as it means the other C295 may be out of service for a similar length of time in the future, they said it shows the importance of adding redundancy into the Air Corps fleet.
They argued that if one C295 had an unscheduled emergency problem while the other aircraft was in Spain for routine maintenance, it would leave the Air Corps without the ability to utilise the “state-of-the-art surveillance and communication equipment” on board.
Ireland is expecting the delivery of another C295 in September.
That aircraft will be under a transport specification, rather than being fitted out with maritime surveillance equipment.
It will enable the Air Corps to provide a wide range of services including logistics support and transport of troops and equipment, medical evacuation and air ambulance, Special Operations Forces operations and a general utility role.