Department of Defence Invests €53m For New Long-Range Government Jet After Learjet Issues

Thursday, 19 December 2024 08:37

By Martin Osborne

The acquisition marks a significant upgrade from the Government’s previous jet, the Learjet, which was plagued by ongoing technical issues and reliability concerns.

The Department of Defence has finalised an agreement to acquire a long-range Government jet, with delivery scheduled for December 2025.

The aircraft is a French-manufactured Falcon 6X, purchased at an estimated cost of €53 million excluding vat.

The Falcon 6X will have a range exceeding 5,000 nautical miles, enabling non-stop flights from Ireland to the west coast of the United States.

The acquisition marks a significant upgrade from the Government’s previous jet, the Learjet, which was plagued by ongoing technical issues and reliability concerns.

It broke down a number of times last year, leaving then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar stuck in Paris in November 2023.

The new Falcon 6X is expected to provide enhanced performance, greater operational reliability, and improved efficiency for long-haul missions.

Speaking after the award of the contract, Tánaiste Micheal Martin said: “This new next generation aircraft will be a game-changer for the State’s transport, airlift and medical capabilities, with a range of over 5000 nautical miles meaning it can reach the west coast of the United States without the need to refuel."

He added: “It will be used for a wide range of tasks, including the non-combatant evacuation of Irish citizens from critical situations, air-ambulance patient transfers, medical evacuation or repatriation of Irish Defence Forces personnel deployed on overseas missions and logistics support for the transport of supplies to Irish Defence Forces overseas missions."