The island of Ireland is in an “absolutely critical position” amid tensions with Russia, the joint military commander in Northern Ireland has said. Brigadier Piers Ashfield, commander of 38 Brigade and the senior military officer in Northern Ireland, made the remarks as the RAF deployed a P-8 Poseidon aircraft to the Joint Helicopter Command Flying Station Aldergrove in Co Antrim for the first time.
The Poseidon, described as one of the RAF’s primary intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (Istar) assets, was primarily in Northern Ireland for a joint search and rescue exercise with the Coastguard and RNLI. However, Brig Ashfield said the move also had military significance, calling it the “physical manifestation” of the updated memorandum of understanding signed by the UK and the Republic of Ireland in March to enhance bilateral defence co-operation.
“Ireland has always been a prisoner of that geography, and where it operates in the Greenland-Iceland gap, as you’ve seen the various ministerial leaders of the MoD describing the threat from Russian naval operations in that space that threatens both the critical national infrastructure that not only the UK depends on, but a significant part of Europe and our allies and partners depend on as well,” Brig Ashfield told the Press Association. “It occupies an absolutely critical position covering this really important stretch of water in the North Atlantic.”
Wing Commander Rob McCartney, commanding officer of the Lossiemouth-based 201 Squadron, described the island of Ireland as strategically important due to its position in the North Atlantic where the Russian navy regularly deploys. “The UK signed a memorandum of understanding with Ireland only a couple of months ago, which signals a much closer security relationship than we had before,” he said. “While we’re here doing search and rescue, we’re also here to plant a little flag in Aldergrove and say the RAF is here in Aldergrove, we plan to operate here and we plan to operate much closer with our Irish partners.”
Wing Commander McCartney added: “The North Atlantic has been strategically important for about 100 years, and since the Second World War has become even more strategic. The Russian navy regularly deploy in the North Atlantic and, on this side of the Atlantic, it is the island of Ireland that is closest to that battlefield… We in a war of deterrence, what we’re here to do is say to Putin ‘we’re willing and ready to be stronger than you and do things that win this war, and airfields like Aldergrove will be part of that solution’.”
