Ireland’s protection of its coastal waters grows with new Airbus C295 delivery
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The Irish Air Corps has received its third and final Airbus C295 transport aircraft at Casement Aerodrome, completing a €300 million procurement that began in 2019, to strengthen transport, maritime surveillance, and medical evacuation missions.
Ireland has concluded its €300 million Airbus C295 acquisition program with the delivery of a third aircraft on October 7, 2025, at Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel. The completion brings the Air Corps’ C295 fleet to three aircraft (two maritime patrol variants and one transport version), replacing CN235s introduced in the 1990s and standardizing national capability for tactical airlift, maritime surveillance, and aeromedical operations. According to the Irish Defence Forces, the fleet forms part of a multi-year modernization plan aimed at improving air and maritime readiness while aligning with wider European defense interoperability initiatives.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is around seven times the country’s land area, and the C295’s maritime patrol role will include surveillance of commercial traffic and monitoring of the Russian shadow fleet movements transiting Irish waters (Picture source: Irish Defence Forces)
The Irish Air Corps received its third and final Airbus C295 tactical transport at Casement Aerodrome on October 7, 2025, completing a €300 million investment that the Defence Forces describe as the largest single equipment procurement in their history. The delivery closes a modernization cycle begun in 2019 to replace ageing CN235 maritime patrol aircraft and to expand national airlift, medical evacuation, and utility capacity for operations at home and overseas. The newly arrived aircraft is configured for transport and complements two C295 ‘Persuader’ maritime surveillance aircraft that entered service in 2023.
The Airbus C295’s tasks cover troop and cargo movement, logistics support, medical evacuation, air ambulance missions, humanitarian relief, and non-combatant transfers. Lieutenant General Rossa Mulcahy stated that the transport variant “will offer flexibility to the Defence Forces both at home and overseas through troop transport and logistics movement, and will support the State and citizens through services such as medical transfers or non-combat evacuations should the need arise.” The procurement enables the phaseout of two CN235s that have been in Irish service since 1994, folding their roles into a single tri-aircraft C295 fleet with broader multi-mission utility.
Ireland’s C295s are the winglet-equipped C295W standard that incorporates an enhanced avionics suite alongside system and performance improvements. The type is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127G turboprop engines rated at 1,972 kW each and is designed for operations from short and semi-prepared runways. Typical loads include up to 70 personnel, 24 stretchers with medical attendants, five standard 108-inch pallets, or three light vehicles, while published figures cite a cruise near 482 km/h and ranges suitable for domestic and European tasks with contingency reach. The transport aircraft, tail number 286, joins No 1 Operations Wing, 101 Squadron, at Baldonnel, with the fleet expected to provide more than two decades of service across troop lift, special forces support, aeromedical evacuation, and general utility duties.
The first two maritime C295s were delivered under a contract initiated in 2019 that has been publicly valued at roughly €230 million. The third aircraft, a transport variant contracted in 2022, has been variously stated in public releases between about €50 million and €60 million, aligning the combined outlay with the €300 million figure cited by the Defence Forces for aircraft and associated costs. In parallel, Ireland is introducing a Dassault Falcon 6X in December 2025 under a €53 million acquisition to replace the Learjet 45 and to add strategic reach for VIP transport, medical evacuation, repatriation of deployed personnel, and logistics support during European Union or United Nations operations. Together, the Falcon 6X and the C295 fleet broaden the state’s ability to conduct timely movements, patient transfers, and contingency evacuations without relying on allied airlift.
The C295 tranche lands within a wider national effort to improve autonomy in air and maritime security. Since 1999, Ireland has relied on arrangements with the United Kingdom for intercepting aerial threats, a practice shaped by the absence of a national primary radar network and a fighter aircraft capability. The government in 2025 signaled movement toward acquiring between eight and fourteen combat aircraft and establishing domestic radar coverage, a prospective program valued at up to €2.5 billion that would represent the first fighter procurement in more than half a century. Operationalizing a versatile C295 fleet is a preparatory step in that direction and, according to public commentary around the delivery, could support Ireland’s participation in pooled airlift structures such as the European Air Transport Command.
The Irish government’s 2025 allocation set a record €1.35 billion for defense, including €215 million for capital investment, with recruitment goals to grow the Permanent Defence Forces and longer-term aims to reach 11,500 personnel by 2028. The Level of Ambition 2 plan outlines €2.465 billion in capital projects through the next decade, including heavier armored vehicles to replace MOWAG Piranha by 2030, maritime and coastal radar improvements, subsea monitoring of critical infrastructure, and naval fleet renewals. Personnel measures encompass increased funding for pay and pensions, specialist civilian hiring to address shortages, and support for inquiries and reforms intended to improve retention and workplace standards.
Maritime security pressures provide immediate context for the C295 MSA pair now in service. Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone is around seven times the country’s land area, and official messaging around the delivery referenced the ongoing development of a National Maritime Security Strategy with public consultations numbering in the hundreds. The maritime patrol role includes surveillance of commercial traffic and monitoring of the Russian shadow fleet movements transiting Irish waters, with attendant concerns about safety, environmental risk, and the integrity of subsea telecommunications and energy links. The Air Corps notes that such operations sit alongside routine missions that have ranged from extradition transports to support for exercises abroad, illustrating the breadth of tasks to which the expanded fixed-wing fleet can be assigned.
The arrival ceremony at Baldonnel included senior civil and military leadership, including the Department of Defence Secretary General Jacqui McCrum and the General Officer Commanding the Air Corps, Brigadier General Rory O’Connor, alongside the joint Air Corps and Department project team. Public briefings around the day highlighted that the Air Corps’ fixed-wing fleet now stands at sixteen aircraft, with ten helicopters in service and four H145M helicopters scheduled for delivery in 2027. Across these moves, Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris summarized the intent by describing the C295 and Falcon 6X acquisitions as an enhancement of transport, airlift, and medical capabilities that align with the government’s commitment to equip the Defence Forces for assigned roles at home and overseas.
Written by Jérôme Brahy
Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.
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The Irish Air Corps has received its third and final Airbus C295 transport aircraft at Casement Aerodrome, completing a €300 million procurement that began in 2019, to strengthen transport, maritime surveillance, and medical evacuation missions.
Ireland has concluded its €300 million Airbus C295 acquisition program with the delivery of a third aircraft on October 7, 2025, at Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel. The completion brings the Air Corps’ C295 fleet to three aircraft (two maritime patrol variants and one transport version), replacing CN235s introduced in the 1990s and standardizing national capability for tactical airlift, maritime surveillance, and aeromedical operations. According to the Irish Defence Forces, the fleet forms part of a multi-year modernization plan aimed at improving air and maritime readiness while aligning with wider European defense interoperability initiatives.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is around seven times the country’s land area, and the C295’s maritime patrol role will include surveillance of commercial traffic and monitoring of the Russian shadow fleet movements transiting Irish waters (Picture source: Irish Defence Forces)
The Irish Air Corps received its third and final Airbus C295 tactical transport at Casement Aerodrome on October 7, 2025, completing a €300 million investment that the Defence Forces describe as the largest single equipment procurement in their history. The delivery closes a modernization cycle begun in 2019 to replace ageing CN235 maritime patrol aircraft and to expand national airlift, medical evacuation, and utility capacity for operations at home and overseas. The newly arrived aircraft is configured for transport and complements two C295 ‘Persuader’ maritime surveillance aircraft that entered service in 2023.
The Airbus C295’s tasks cover troop and cargo movement, logistics support, medical evacuation, air ambulance missions, humanitarian relief, and non-combatant transfers. Lieutenant General Rossa Mulcahy stated that the transport variant “will offer flexibility to the Defence Forces both at home and overseas through troop transport and logistics movement, and will support the State and citizens through services such as medical transfers or non-combat evacuations should the need arise.” The procurement enables the phaseout of two CN235s that have been in Irish service since 1994, folding their roles into a single tri-aircraft C295 fleet with broader multi-mission utility.
Ireland’s C295s are the winglet-equipped C295W standard that incorporates an enhanced avionics suite alongside system and performance improvements. The type is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127G turboprop engines rated at 1,972 kW each and is designed for operations from short and semi-prepared runways. Typical loads include up to 70 personnel, 24 stretchers with medical attendants, five standard 108-inch pallets, or three light vehicles, while published figures cite a cruise near 482 km/h and ranges suitable for domestic and European tasks with contingency reach. The transport aircraft, tail number 286, joins No 1 Operations Wing, 101 Squadron, at Baldonnel, with the fleet expected to provide more than two decades of service across troop lift, special forces support, aeromedical evacuation, and general utility duties.
The first two maritime C295s were delivered under a contract initiated in 2019 that has been publicly valued at roughly €230 million. The third aircraft, a transport variant contracted in 2022, has been variously stated in public releases between about €50 million and €60 million, aligning the combined outlay with the €300 million figure cited by the Defence Forces for aircraft and associated costs. In parallel, Ireland is introducing a Dassault Falcon 6X in December 2025 under a €53 million acquisition to replace the Learjet 45 and to add strategic reach for VIP transport, medical evacuation, repatriation of deployed personnel, and logistics support during European Union or United Nations operations. Together, the Falcon 6X and the C295 fleet broaden the state’s ability to conduct timely movements, patient transfers, and contingency evacuations without relying on allied airlift.
The C295 tranche lands within a wider national effort to improve autonomy in air and maritime security. Since 1999, Ireland has relied on arrangements with the United Kingdom for intercepting aerial threats, a practice shaped by the absence of a national primary radar network and a fighter aircraft capability. The government in 2025 signaled movement toward acquiring between eight and fourteen combat aircraft and establishing domestic radar coverage, a prospective program valued at up to €2.5 billion that would represent the first fighter procurement in more than half a century. Operationalizing a versatile C295 fleet is a preparatory step in that direction and, according to public commentary around the delivery, could support Ireland’s participation in pooled airlift structures such as the European Air Transport Command.
The Irish government’s 2025 allocation set a record €1.35 billion for defense, including €215 million for capital investment, with recruitment goals to grow the Permanent Defence Forces and longer-term aims to reach 11,500 personnel by 2028. The Level of Ambition 2 plan outlines €2.465 billion in capital projects through the next decade, including heavier armored vehicles to replace MOWAG Piranha by 2030, maritime and coastal radar improvements, subsea monitoring of critical infrastructure, and naval fleet renewals. Personnel measures encompass increased funding for pay and pensions, specialist civilian hiring to address shortages, and support for inquiries and reforms intended to improve retention and workplace standards.
Maritime security pressures provide immediate context for the C295 MSA pair now in service. Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone is around seven times the country’s land area, and official messaging around the delivery referenced the ongoing development of a National Maritime Security Strategy with public consultations numbering in the hundreds. The maritime patrol role includes surveillance of commercial traffic and monitoring of the Russian shadow fleet movements transiting Irish waters, with attendant concerns about safety, environmental risk, and the integrity of subsea telecommunications and energy links. The Air Corps notes that such operations sit alongside routine missions that have ranged from extradition transports to support for exercises abroad, illustrating the breadth of tasks to which the expanded fixed-wing fleet can be assigned.
The arrival ceremony at Baldonnel included senior civil and military leadership, including the Department of Defence Secretary General Jacqui McCrum and the General Officer Commanding the Air Corps, Brigadier General Rory O’Connor, alongside the joint Air Corps and Department project team. Public briefings around the day highlighted that the Air Corps’ fixed-wing fleet now stands at sixteen aircraft, with ten helicopters in service and four H145M helicopters scheduled for delivery in 2027. Across these moves, Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris summarized the intent by describing the C295 and Falcon 6X acquisitions as an enhancement of transport, airlift, and medical capabilities that align with the government’s commitment to equip the Defence Forces for assigned roles at home and overseas.
Written by Jérôme Brahy
Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.
