DESPITE CLAIMS BY Government that Ireland would not buy military equipment from Israel it has emerged that the State is to purchase helicopters with extensive amounts of Israeli defence tech, The Journal has learned.

In August last year Micheál Martin, then Tánaiste and Minister for Defence and Foreign Affairs, said that Ireland would not be purchasing kit which contains Israeli manufactured products.

Speaking to reporters Martin said at the time: “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.”

It is not clear if that statement by Micheál Martin was specific to equipment, in its entirety, from Israel or parts of equipment. 

His commitment is vague enough to give some wriggle room, and, likewise, a new measure introduced into the tendering process also gives Ireland some latitude to continue to buy the equipment. 

Martin said at the time 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.

At the time The Journal spoke to security sources who said that the Irish Defence Forces had previously purchased optics, electronics and drones from Israel. 

Now we have learned that 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 Israeli company Elbit Systems. Helionix is the flight systems that are critical components in the helicopters’ cockpits. 

It has also been confirmed that the new maritime patrol CASA 295 aircraft have Israeli manufactured radar on board. The Air Corps is also expected to take delivery of a third CASA 295, also built by Airbus, which will be a cargo variant later this year.

The helicopter purchase shows the difficulty for the Government in taking such a stance. 

Airbus aircraft are built in a unique way that essentially means that parts are built by individual companies which then send their elements to the location where the helicopter is assembled. 

This means that the aircraft can have components from countries that Ireland may not have good relationships with.  

In a statement the Department of Defence said that tendering documents have been drafted to allow the rejection of equipment in certain scenarios.

“I can confirm that in order to give effect to the Tánaiste’s commitment of August 2024 to ensure that no further procurement of defensive equipment from Israel takes place, the Department has included provisions in its tender documentation regarding the right to reject offers from third countries on defence and security grounds, in line with the Commission guidance on the procurement of defensive equipment under Directive 2009/18/EU,” the statement said.

It is understood that the tender documents that mention of the discretionary Israeli exemption is given before the tender contract is agreed. The right to exclude is not absolute and in its interpretation can give scope for discretion for the procurement officers making the decision.

The Department said that the maritime patrol aircraft contract predated the comments of Micheál Martin and were signed in December 2019.

In regard to the helicopters the Department spokesperson would not go into specifics of equipment in the new helicopters. 

“I can confirm that the H145 rotary wing aircraft comes fitted with the Helionix Avionics Suite, an avionics solution which is proprietary to Airbus. 

“Avionics systems are fitted on all modern civil and military aircraft to assist pilots to fly the aircraft safely and are not military specific,” the spokesperson said.