Government ‘must warn against airspace intrusions’
Fears have been expressed that the British shadowing of a Russian fleet, led by the 55,000-tonne aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, could lead to a repeat of an incident last year when Russian bombers strayed into Irish-controlled airspace, cloaking their presence to commercial jets.
The Tu-95 ‘bear’ bombers criss-crossed in and out of Irish-controlled airspace in an effort to evade shadowing British fighter jets. It’s believed they were using the opportunity to test Britain’s western air defences.
This forced the Irish Aviation Authority to ground and divert passenger jets to avoid mid-air collisions.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan has been told to make it clear that intrusions into Irish-controlled airspace by military aircraft with their transponders turned off will not be tolerated.
Fianna Fáil spokeswoman on defence, Lisa Chambers, said she would be calling on Mr Flanagan to immediately make his views known to both sides.
The Russian fleet, which includes the battlecruiser Peter the Great and anti-submarine destroyers, has already departed its base near Murmansk and is expected to traverse the English Channel in a show of strength on its way to the Syria coast.
A Nato naval source told the it was possible the Russian navy could split up in the North Sea, with some going down the Irish Sea or the West coast of Ireland “to cause more trouble”.
That may be a reference to the incident on February 18, 2015 when the bombers turned their transponders off entering Irish-controlled airspace.
The Russians are expected to launch MIG fighter jet exercises from the aircraft carrier.
Ms Chambers said Mr Flanagan must warn both sides about cloaked intrusions into Irish-controlled airspace, and be particularly vocal with the Russians as he had recently criticised them for their role in Syria.
