Niall O'Connor

GARDAÍ PURCHASED MILITARY grade anti-drone jammers for the EU Presidency from a company based in Tel Aviv despite the government stating Ireland would not purchase tech from Israel. 

In August this year, The Journal revealed that the State did not purchase specialist sensors for the new €53m Dassault Falcon 6X government jet because they were from an Israeli company.  

However, earlier in the year An Garda Síochána bought sophisticated anti-drone security kit made by a company called Sentrycs.

In August 2024 Micheál Martin, then Tánaiste and minister for defence and foreign affairs, said that Ireland would not be purchasing kit which contains Israeli manufactured products.

This came in response to the genocide in Gaza but also a widespread campaign to halt Irish trade with Israel.

The garda counter drone equipment has been mounted on the roofs of buildings and acts as a jammer to prevent drones flying over event locations during the presidency. The Journal has also observed the units at events in University College Cork in July.

It is operated by the Garda Special Tactics Operations Command (STOC) which is home to units such as the regional Armed Support Units (ASU) and the national Emergency Response Unit (ERU). 

The ASU have been trained to use the kit, and they have been observed with it in photographs on garda social media accounts. They are also using other technology along with handheld devices. 

French, Portuguese and Latvian police as well as the PSNI have been involved in the counter-drone operations but gardaí have purchased a wide array of equipment.

Sources have said that the gardaí sourced their equipment through a US supplier, but the equipment is entirely Israeli designed and built. 

One well-placed source said that the equipment is “the best that can be bought” and that there is a significant struggle to source high-tech security kit of this type without having Israeli involvement in it. 

The source said there was also contact with British experts. Other sources with knowledge of the systems said it was recommended as the world’s best equipment by American experts. 

The Sentrycs system in Dublin. Garda Press Office Garda Press Office

An examination of the manufacturer’sboard reveals several members who are former Israeli Defence Forces members. The CEO of the company Tal Cohen was Head of Product and Research and Development at the Israeli Air Force from 2016 to 2020.  

The Israeli company has offices in Tel Aviv and in New York.

Sentrycs was acquired by American company Ondas Incoporated in 2025 – it has its headquarters in Florida and its website states that it is “a leading provider of autonomous systems, robotics and mission-critical technologies for defence, homeland security, public safety, critical infrastructure, and industrial markets”.

The Department of Justice referred our request for a statement to An Garda Síochána. 

A garda spokeswoman said: “An Garda Síochána is Ireland’s National Policing and Security Service and does not comment on matters of national security, including any matters pertaining to procurement of technology or costs associated with matters of national security.”

Sentrycs did not respond to a request for comment. 

We have previously revealed that four new helicopters, to be built by Airbus Helicopters UK for the Irish Air Corps, carry Israeli manufactured tech. They carry Helionix which is manufactured by Airbus and Elbit Systems. Helionix flight systems are critical components in the helicopters’ cockpits. 

In 2024 Martin, who was Tánaiste and minister for defence and foreign affairs at the time, was asked to explain how Ireland would review its relationship with Israel, Martin said: “It’s not all aspects of trade, but certainly there’s been speculation of procurement of military [contracts].

“That certainly will not happen. We will not be procuring military equipment or defence equipment or contracts with Israel, I believe.”

He said that the decision had been taken in light of the International Court of Justice’s ruling that Israeli settlements in the West Bank breached international law and its opinion on the country’s actions in Gaza.