In an effort to protect U.S. President Joe Biden during his visit to Ireland this week, the Irish Armed Forces had planned to deploy the RBS 70 air defence system. However, military officials had to abandon this plan due to the Giraffe short range radar system, which works in tandem with the RBS 70, being obsolete.
Photo: Saab
According to sources, the Swedish-built RBS 70 air defense system can fire laser-guided missiles up to 6km, making it a state-of-the-art air defence system. But without the Giraffe short range radar system, the RBS 70 cannot track potential threats in the skies, rendering it useless.
Despite being aware of the problem with the Giraffe system, the Irish Armed Forces top brass were denied a new radar system by the Department of Defence, resulting in the RBS 70 being unable to be used for protecting the President.
While the RBS 70 cannot be deployed, the military will still have a large presence to protect Biden during his visit. The Air Corps will enforce no-fly zones, and the Naval Service will deploy ships along the coastline. The Army Ranger Wing, specialist engineers, and search teams will also be involved, along with thousands of police and helicopters from the Air Support Unit.
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