'Ireland needs military-grade drones to fend off bombardment of drugs by cocaine cartels'
Experienced investigators and officers said that, while these sophisticated high-tech drones are expensive, they are 'needed now', such is the depleted state of Irish naval and air assets and the constant supply of cocaine over the Atlantic.
A range of sources say limited naval service patrols, stemming from a staffing crisis, and reduced air corps flights, due to a dire shortage of traffic controllers, is 'significantly' affecting the ability of State agencies to monitor Irish waters and respond to threats.
This is despite the successful interception of a cocaine smuggling operation on the Cork coast last Tuesday and the sentencing on Friday of men involved in the September 2023 MV Matthew case.
Sources have criticised the slow pace of official interest in military drones, despite calls in the February 2022 Commission on Defence Forces report for 'further development' in remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS). This was accepted in the Government high-level action plan in July 2022.
A partially-burned cocaine stash inside a lifeboat on board the MV Matthew in September 2023.
The 2025 programme for government committed to funding 'unmanned drones to patrol our coast and ports and detect the trafficking of illegal drugs'.
One security source said: 'The Defence Forces are massively out of step on this. They are years behind where they should be in MALE [medium altitude long endurance] drone space. They have endurance for 9-12 hours and can give persistence in an operating area.'
A second security source said: 'For a lot of this [counter-drug] work, we don't need people in planes, we just need eyes in the sky and this is where we need drones, now. We are being bombarded with cocaine.'
This source said Ireland faces the expanded threat now: Traffickers no longer need a port to land a tonne of cocaine — they can do so on just a beach. A third source said:
We have a cocaine highway, but we have very limited domain awareness.
Retired air corps pilot and current airline captain Kevin Phipps said RPAS allow 'unparalleled persistent long range surveillance of large areas' but said policy in Government departments 'has not kept pace'.
He said drug interdiction was 'one area that Ireland could benefit', with fisheries monitoring and protection of offshore critical infrastructure other areas.
'Despite this capability gap, one has to question why Government departments have not leveraged EU capabilities,' Mr Phipps said, adding that the European Maritime Surveillance Agency provides access to its drones.
In response to queries, the Department of Defence said: 'The air corps currently does not operate unmanned aerial drones for the patrolling of Irish territorial airspace or waters. However, it is proposed that this capability will be developed in future in line with a specific recommendation in this regard made by the Commission on the Defence Forces.
'The timeframe for this will be outlined in the updated detailed implementation plan for the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces, which is due to be published shortly.'
Security sources have said satellites — use of which can be rented — would also significantly enhance awareness of Ireland's sprawling maritime area. Denmark recently launched, with Sweden, its own satellite.
Other sources said investment in air drones should be complemented by investment in surface drones — not least because the planned purchase of ship-based sonars will be of limited use if vessels are not at sea because of the staffing crisis.
One such source said surface drones could operate 24/7 for over 100 days in key areas — the south west/southern approaches and the Irish sea. Sources said the European Defence Agency could help in procurement.
In June, Denmark deployed four surface drones for a three-month mission to monitor sub-sea critical infrastructure.
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