Ireland steps up European defence co-operation in the face of Russian activity
The Russian Navy’s Admiral Grigorovich is one of the country’s ships seen in Irish waters in recent years leading to Ireland to search for capability and cooperation in response. (Photo: Irish Defence Force)
Ireland is militarily neutral but has joined a European Union (EU) rapid reaction force and a European information sharing group.
Ireland is set to join the Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE) group, a consortium of 10 European countries with substantial coastal areas, and the country’s defence force is to step up efforts to buy a new coastal radar and sonar equipment.
These moves come in the face of continued Russian naval activity in Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone, most recently the presence last week of Viktor Leonov, a Russian Navy intelligence warship, off the Irish coast.
In a further sign of neutral Ireland moving towards a cooperative involvement with Europe, the Irish Times has reported that new equipment has been issued to
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