Comments by "bighand69" (@bighands69) on "Ed Nash's Military Matters" channel.

  1.  @williamchick6649  I will be honest with you the people of Ireland value the welfare state more than a defence force.
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  2. Those aircraft have a lot of fit outs and are under constant improvements. The old saying if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
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  3. For Ireland to do that it is going to need to spend about 40 billion on an airfare. US equipment is the best bet has it can easily be delivered across the atlantic. Britain has great stuff as well which can be used.
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  4. Nearly 80% of irish government expenditure is on the welfare state. Direct welfare expenditure in Ireland is €25 billion. The Irish government collects €25 billion income tax. So that means the income tax the average person is paying goes 100% towards those on welfare employment benefits. Until the Irish government and its people sort out the government nothing will change.
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  5. Ireland can have a position of not getting involved in wars if it wants but that has nothing to do with Ireland being able to defend it self. Switzerland is neutral but it has an air force and a capable million man defence force. And it spends about $5 billion per year. There is no reason why Ireland cannot have similar capabilities. Switzerland has about 60 fighter jets. And an amazing air defence system.
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  6. It is a nonsense approach that is insane for any country to go down.
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  7.  @Lapantouflemagic0  Everybody knows what the Chinese technological capabilities are. Not much to be honest.
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  8. An F15 and F16 program would be more suitable. It would give a mixture of Air to Air and Air to ground superiority. And when combined with a ground to air defence system could be enough to dispel an attacking air force. Also have a Naval to air defence system would add to that. To offer defence of such a system would then require ground commando regiments.
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  9. It is much smaller and can be built by hand in the field by operation teams and packed onto a cargo aircraft. Trying to do that with a new A-10 platform would cost $50 billion at least in development and still not be able to do the same job.
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  10. Simple folks with a €500 billion GDP, large IT industry, large instrumentation industry, large medical device industry and one of Europe's largest aluminum plants. I do not think Ireland is that simple and is massively underspending with its defence force. Ireland can easily afford a fleet of F-16s and F-35 aircraft.
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  11. Canada has its own problems with an underperforming defence force.
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  12. If the Irish government did not spend so much on the welfare state they could easily have a force of F15 and F16 and a ground to air defence system that would make Ireland extremely tough to invade by air.
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  13. Ireland is an Island on the Atlantic and it needs more than 20 fighter jets and would needs somewhere at a minimum of about 150 fighters to protect against a large scale naval invasion. Ireland needs to invest about 40 to 80 billion and then about 2.5% gdp of about $10 billion per year. That means ireland needs about 50000 to 100000 full time troops and then about 400,000 reservists. WW3 is coming and people are in denial.
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  14.  @eitleoir170  Ireland needs to invest about €50 billion into its defence infrastructure and then spend about €12 billion every year.
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  15. New Zealand has the welfare state mentality that Ireland has. It will never invest in its defence forces. And when they realize as a culture that they need it well that may be too late. Australia and the US will probably not be able to defend New Zealand.
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  16. Ireland can easily afford 80 fighter jets with that being something like 60 F-16 and 20 F-35. That is what it would take to defend Ireland from a naval invasion from the Atlantic or a break out from the mediterranean.
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  17. In the context of special operations or an expeditionary force it would provide air capabilities. What sets it apart when you read on it is the modern avionics, targeting systems and missiles. A ground troops would also be capable of guiding in missiles to a target that are launched from it. It can be shipped in parts on a cargo aircraft and then built on mission side. A lot of other aircraft would not offer that capabilities. In the future special operations will be using that type of aircraft a lot when normal air resources are not an option or to at least layer into existing air assets. There was similar aircraft used by US special operations during the Vietnam war. Special operations already use Little Bird helicopters in a similar type of air to ground system.
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  18. @Jamie There is no such thing as neutral it does not exist. Hitler invaded several neutral countries and did not attempt to invade Switzerland because had a massive air defence system and large number of defensive troops. Ireland is an Island and needs to make it a fortress. Your attitude is just disgusting at best.
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  19.  @Danheron2  2.5% is about $10 billion per year. That would be to operate a large reserve defence force, air defence system and air force so as to act as a naval defence force. The cost of building a navy is much more expensive and far beyond what I have stated. Especially a navy that could compete against an invading navy.
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  20. Ireland needs a completely cultural change. I though it may have come about after the last crisis but the media holds too much power. Ireland needs to get rid of its welfare state mentality, lower taxes on the working class and open their economy up far too much protectionism going on. At present 80% of the Irish military budget goes on pensions and supporting welfare programs.
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  21. It only becomes a risk if the west does nothing. If they arm the regions to the point that Russia realizes the prices will be so high then they may have second thoughts.
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  22.  @gloin10  The welfare state incorporates all programs that cover socioeconomic sectors and is not just expenditures of employment support or unemployment. 25 billion is for the year planned 2021 and has been stipulated as part of public finances and is not my figure as you are trying to imply. In the real world the Irish government expenditure of the welfare state extends into everything from healthcare, social care, unemployment support, government departments administration and local authority programs. Those are not my definitions but are widely accepted to the point they are even published in simple wikipedia arguments but are also part of academia. I do not particularly want to list all expenditure as that would be tedious but at least 80% of Irish government expenditure is on the welfare state. GDP mean absolutely nothing in regards to this discussion and is an irrelevant figure as it has no applicable means of expenditure.
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  23. Ireland needs a far more simple approach to start off. It needs to grow it defence forces to about 50,000 personnel, needs special operations and then it needs to acquire a more simplistic air defence system involving something like an F16 and F15 program. Ireland currently spends over a billion on defence but most of that goes on pensions.
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  24. Ireland's air defence is currently based on an agreement with the UK government. If there is a major war the UK may not actually be able to honour that agreement. That means RAF aircraft are the defence of Irish Airspace. Just let that sink in.
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  25. There is no comparison between the military of Hungary and Ireland. The military of Hungary has 22000 active personnel and about 25,000 reserve personnel. And its budget is about €2 billion per year. And it also procures equipment orders in the hundreds of millions. About 80% of Irish military budget goes towards pensions and there is no procurement program. Ireland is still using 1970s military weapons in its inventory no amount of cheap Gripen procurements will solve the problems of Irish defence.
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  26. They are talking about spending 3 billion per year on Irish military. And what has happened in Ukraine has freaked them out a little bit.
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  27.  @fentonpainter5275  You are only seeing it in your head.
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  28. It did not matter what aircraft was used they wanted to develop the platform from the ground up.
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  29.  @terranempire725  It would not matter what aircraft they selected as a base platform it was going to be designed and fitted for special operations from the ground up. They went with a blank slate and built their own platform. The Skywarden is a completely new aircraft and its capabilities will not be public.
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  30. And what would Ireland do it if actually detects a Russia submarine. Would little Commie president actually tell them off and go and meet with Putin? I would not be surprised in certain people In Ireland are Chinese assets.
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  31.  @yermanoffthetelly  Irish ships could not engage with a Russia submarine. A Russia attack helicopter would destroy any Irish naval vessel.
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  32.  @hantykje3005  And how could Ireland force it to leave if it decides not to leave. What options do you think are available?
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  33. Some structures are just so dependable that they last for long periods of time and they may also be easy to make repairs or upgrades on.
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  34. Because they would then have to develop the Texen 2 to do the job and it would in effect amount to the same thing.
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  35. Without nuclear weapons there would have been world wars that would have cost billions of lives. In WW2 there was agreements that chemical weapons would not be used but there is no guarantee that WW3 would have had no chemical weapons.
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  36. It is exactly the sort of dumb thing the Irish politicians would do. They are far more focused on buying public votes with billion europe welfare programs than the defence of their nation. It is the sort of thing that actually puts nations at risk of going out of existence.
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  37. Ireland will need to spend a lot more than that to protect it self in the potential upcoming world war.
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  38. Ireland needs to do nothing of the sort. Ireland has the ability to spend about €50 billion on its military build out and then €12 billion per year to maintain it.
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  39. They are not paying for just the aircraft. They are paying for avionics, targeting system and so on. America is the best for a reason.
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  40. You want to know why they were conducting the operations there. They are drilling for an invasion of Ireland when WW3 starts. If they capture Ireland they can for a pincer movement on the Britain from the west and also from the east. By the time the Irish people figure out what is happening it will be too late and no amount of money will then be able to acquire the equipment necessary. Most Irish strategic forts that would defend its coast line have been shut down and turned into EU funded cultural centres.
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  41. That aircraft is needed by US special operations.
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  42. It is only gone if the west does nothing but if it were to arm the Ukrainians with enough weapons to stop the advancement it would send a message that our D list team can stop you and you do not want to see our A list team in action.
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  43. That is all fine and dandy in peace times but if there is a major world war (which is coming) both the UK and US may not actually be able to honour its military agreements.
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  44. Ireland should be ording F35, F15 and F16 craft and A-10 craft.
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  45. @Archibald Tuttle Ireland does not spend money on defence. They would expect switzerland to spend all the money and they get it for cheap. All at the same time the Irish government spends about €60 billion on its welfare state. Ireland currently spends about €1 billion per year on its military with about 80% of that going on pensions.
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  46. Ireland does not need any of that. It needs about 80 fighter jets that are suited to engaging naval invading forces. And it can afford it if it wants to. Once WW3 breaks out it will be really difficult to actually build up the military defence forces of ireland.
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  47. You are clueless. America is not going to pick sides between Ireland and the UK so you can get of that silly horse right away. How will Ireland withstand the overtures of Putin when he invades Europe with Putin promising a United Ireland.
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  48. Ireland's problem is not money nor its government. It is the culture of Ireland that is the problem. People are more interested in the welfare state in Ireland. If the people had the right state of mind Ireland could have one of the most powerful militaries in Europe if it desired. Ireland Currently spends almost 70 billion per year on the welfare state now imagine if 10 billion of that was spent on modernizing the Irish defence forces and also expanding it size. Ireland could easily build it self a 100,000 strong military with state of the art F35 and F16 fighters and a powerful ground based air defence system.
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  49. Ireland as a country could easily afford a modern airforce if it desired. The will of the culture is not there. Ireland values the welfare state far more.
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  50. That is a nonsense story.
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  51. You are talking crap.
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  52. Ireland if it wanted to could afford 200 modern fighter jets and a defence force of 100,000 troops. The desire is simply not there.
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  53. Good luck trying to get replacement parts when Ireland is defending against them. Probably would find out there is some secret cut off switch and they would not work.
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  54.  @fintanoflaois3222  Such a foreign government cannot unlawfully enter but in cases of Emergencies Ireland do have an agreement in place for air defence.
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  55.  @cavediver8385  Yes I have served. I am telling you that special operations wants small light aircraft that can be deployed at their own choosing. I am not saying that these small aircraft are somehow going to replace fighter jets or jet attack aircraft. Special operations already use drones, little Bird's and aircraft like the one in the video. Special Operations had that aircraft as a system designed from the ground up to meet operational specifications. Most keyboard warriors are just ignorant of that.
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  56. An F15 and F16 program would be better as a primary air defence system.
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  57. Nope. They built a platform from the ground up to their exact needs for special operations.
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  58. None of that would help Ireland have an air force that is capable of defending itself. Just to add New Zealand has the same problems that Ireland have in having no air force to defend itself.
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  59. No Ireland needs only American aircraft that are cutting edge such as the F35. Ireland is an island and needs something to counter a naval invasion.
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  60. A UAV cannot do the job of that aircraft. It would be a pointless exercise at this stage to try it with a UAV.
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  61. Mercs are not good for defence they can be used for fighting in war but not for defence of the homeland. Vence was one of the richests and most powerful states during the middle ages but it relied on mercenaries to do its fighting and then for its defence and it caused its collapse and conquering.
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  62. The problem with buying that equipment is actually then serving it and keep it active.
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  63. They would only really be for show and would not offer any real air defence and an attacking force would know this as well. And it would send pilots to the suicide party.
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  64. No. Ireland needs to be getting F35;Ireland's Currently Ireland air defences are relying on the good graces of the UK and US for defence.
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  65. Putin can be held into a corner if the west can support Ukraine with weapons so that they can counter the large invading tank forces that coming. Russia Air attacks have so far been useless and have not really done what they were supposed to do. A stalemate can be achieved so that Russia will accept its position. So far the west has been weak and timid.
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  66. Russia would take it with ease but the problem that then presents is that the west is going to know fully that Russia intends to push west. Russia does not have the industrial economy to fully engage in global conflict. It has nuclear weapons which are a great fear tool to allow it to bully on the international stage but they can never use them. Behind all of this there is a question does the Russian nuclear warhead stockpile work since much of it is 50 years old.
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  67.  @georgebarnes8163  Ireland only has about 9000 defence force troops. The government will try and pretend it has 12,000. And the reserve force at maximum has about 3000 troops. Ireland is an Island yet it does not even have an actual navy to defend it self never mind an air force.
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  68.  @tnc7399  It most certainly could be used by Ukrainian special forces in their operations.
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  69. US has been using that type of aircraft since the US invented powered aircraft.
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  70.  @davrelltien7416  The aircraft in the video has been designed from the ground up to be a special operations platform. There are plenty of aircraft that could have been used but this is the platform they based it on for development. Super Tucano will have abilities that are suitable for other tasks.
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  71.  @gloin10  Ireland if it wanted to could have a defence force with 100,000 troops and 200 advanced fighter jets. There simply is no cultural desire for Ireland to defend itself.
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  72. Ireland could have an airforce of 200 fighter craft and 100,000 troops if need be. There is simply no desire to do that in Irish culture. People in Ireland are more content with the welfare state than defending them self. I suppose it is to be expected considering that ireland was first conquered by Nords, then Norms and then the British. Taking handouts is part of the Irish cultural genetics.
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  73. The Russians are very clear that they want a Eurasian Empire that goes from the Atlantic to Bering Sea. All their major doctrine is based up on. They even produce best selling books on the topic and have political parties that believe in it.
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  74. 16 such craft would not protect Ireland in a major war.
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  75. There is only one clown and it is not the designers of the aircraft.
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  76. In a major war Ireland would need cutting edge craft to guarantee its defence. In the case of World War Ireland would become a target due to its position on the atlantic as would greenland and Iceland.
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  77. It has to be F16 and F35 and maybe Typhoon but from now on it might be difficult to acquire the equipment necessary as war is on the horizon.
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  78.  @alltypesofvideos9902  In a major war the US will have its hands full and will not have Ireland as a priority. The only thing saving Ireland might be that it is a priority strategic Island on the atlantic.
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  79.  @alltypesofvideos9902  The US does not have air bases in Ireland. What Ireland does allow in non war times is for US aircraft to land in Shannon for refuelling but they are not allowed to be combat aircraft. I hope that makes sense.
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  80. It has a missile system that will enable it to target attack jets and anti air systems. It will have a comms system that enable it to work along side drones and for ground forces to provide targeting information. So if ground forces mark an anti missile system it will be targeted by the aircraft outside the range of the defence system.
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  81. Ireland really needs to up its game as there is a massive war on the horizon. Russia wants to build an empire from the Bering Sea to the Atlantic. Ireland needs to be able to defend its Southern and Western coasts from invasion. Ireland needs a large cutting edge airforce.
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  82.  @animula6908  What do you mean by the defences of the west? The American military is far larger than the Russian military. British navy would crush the Russian navy and French Navy would do the same.
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  83. Britain instead of keeping its military decided to spend its money on the welfare state program that its people seemed to have wanted. 50 years later and I am sure many regret that move.
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  84. If that 1950s person was shown the missiles, avianotics, targeting systems and so on they would think it was science fiction.
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  85. Irelands yearly military budget should be €12 billion per year. It should have a €50 billion military budget to build its military infrastructure. A 1.5 billion budget for a country with a country with a GDP of €500 billion is a joke at best.
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  86. Ireland if it put its mind to it could have a F15 and F16 airforce program. It will never happen as long as Ireland is a welfare state spending billions to keep people sitting on their fat.........
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  87. Ireland has to consider US equipment. It has a far better inventory support and in a major war it will be the only equipment that is freely available. Germany in WW2 produced amazing equipment but their problem was they could not replace it or repair it in the field. German tanks had amazing performance because they had Porsche engine design but when they broke down they were difficult to repair.
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  88. I am afraid Croatia spending and investment in its forces does not come anywhere near to where it needs to be. Ireland could easily spend €50 on its military upgrades and then €12 billion per year on maintaining that.
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  89. The would only be for show and would have no real ability to be used for air defence. The could be bought for training.
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  90. That support from the UK is fine and dandy during peace times but would be useless during a world war as the UK and US would have too much on its plate to deal with.
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  91. Those aircraft would be used by special operations and would be deadly in WW3. I would loved for them to have been in existence when I served.
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  92. Or you could just whine about it and wait for the Russians to come for you as they will.
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  93. Nope. They have ordered 6 special operations aircraft that have been specifically developed from the ground up. When they give special operations a wide arrangement of them the cost will be much lower.
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  94. That is not what is needed as that will just escalate the war and make it so that Russia has to respond in kind. What is required is that Ukraine needs to be armed with anti tank and anti air systems that can stop the Russian advances. If the cost is so high Russia may actually cut a deal that allows them to save face. Put and the national Russian movement is not going to want to lose this war outright.
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  95. Ireland needs a complete cultural change.
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  96. They also launch missiles.
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  97. Some of you are clueless on this. It is an aircraft platform developed for special operations. That means it can be packed onto a cargo ship and then built on the mission side and then deployed. What will happen is that every special operations force will have access to these to be used on mission. They will also be capable of taking out tanks and buildings.
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  98.  @cmulder002  Ireland cares more about social welfare than transport.
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  99. You have figure out that ireland would be a major target for Russia and China in a major war. Very few seem to realize that to be the case. The problem with Ireland relying on the UK and US is that in a major war those countries may have their hands full dealing with other zones.
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  100. They do not want crazy speeds. They want something that can be flown at very low speeds as well for several hours but have enough speed to get out of their if need be.
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  101. They will be perfect for operations with US special operations.
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  102.  @georgebarnes8163  Ireland has a GDP of €500 billion and could easily afford such aircraft in large numbers because it does not have a naval force.
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  103. Oh and they have invested about 80% of the military budget into pensions.
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  104. Ireland needs F35's, F16's, F17s and f18s. Ireland will need to invest about €20 billion to get it self an airforce that can protect the Island. Ireland in total will probably need to spend about €80 billion on its military.
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  105. Nations that have historically used mercenaries have not faired that well because those forces can be bought of by somebody else with more money.
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  106. Ireland is an extremely wealthy country its GDP is about €500 billion for a population of 5 million. Its government could invest and build its military with its own aircraft. There are reasons why none of this has happened.
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  107. Unless the West is willing to show Putin that it is serious it will mean nothing. The problem they have now is that they have given him the impression that they are not actually willing to do anything. SO they need to do something that really demonstrates that they are serious. The first need to flood Ukraine with weapons that can stop the advancements of tanks and fighter jets. Nothing to crazy that would give the Russians the impression that they are about to be invaded.
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  108. British military is far more powerful than people realize because it is a 300,000 professional force with top tier training. Russia is made up of a conscription army that is using extremely old equipment and has poor training. Russian forces would be great for defence or attacking small countries but would be useless in large scale conflicts.
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  109.  @Danheron2  Ireland will need to invest about 40 to 80 billion in its military because it is so poorly equipped to begin with and it then needs to spend about 2.5% per year which is about €10 billion.
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  110.  @alltypesofvideos9902  Nearly 85% of Irish government expenditure is on the Irish welfare state which covers everything from education, hospitals, welfare payments and so on. And for your information Ireland does issue welfare vouchers.
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  111. The were not jet fighters.
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  112. Ireland would be better of buying a first rate air defence system from the UK to defend its airspace in the situation of invasion. When it comes to aircraft such as fighter jets ireland should buy about 60 F-16 and then 20 F-35. That would enable Ireland to defend a naval invasion from the South, West and North. When combined with Britain it would form a formidable defense system. The dangers for Ireland would be a Russian push from either the north, south from mediterranean via the black sea and a wide arc attack from african mainland via the Atlantic.
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  113. Never use Mercenaries for home defence. Their loyalties never are with the place they work for.
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  114. What people do not understand is that the aircraft as a platform has been built from scratch. No matter what existing platform is used it would have to go through the exact same process. They did not just select a random aircraft they would have tested numerous options.
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  115. Tanks are amazing when they are part of battle groups but on their own they are useless.
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  116. A nightmare of a Russian invasion is much worse than the left dominated political nightmare of ireland.
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  117. Ireland has no military strength at all. Every single european country could conquer the Irish defence forces in 3 days or less. The reason Ireland neglects its military is due to the culture of the country valuing the existence of the welfare state more than its defence. Currently 80% of Irish government expenditure is on the welfare state.
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  118.  @ConCon75  What you think Guerilla warfare conducted against the Chinese would work while they are slaughtering the people?
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  119. That might work for Korea but not Ireland.
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  120. Nope. A drone cannot be used like a piloted aircraft. Drones have their place but they simply cannot compete with a human in the cockpit.
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  121.  @Pallanamnjavelet  It will not be the case in 20 years. A human in an environment is what they want.
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  122. Mirage 2000 would not be enough and then there would be the issue of Ireland not having the infrastructure to maintain the system.
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  123. Mercs are never a good idea for home defence. They can be used to fight in a war overseas but never to defend the homes of the Irish or any country for that matter.
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  124. Russia does not have the airforce to take on the west. The US has complete air supremacy. Two the point that its air force is twice the size of Russia and China combined.
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  125. No. The super tucano is an already developed platform. This new aircraft was built from the ground up for special operations.
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  126.  @simon8089  It is a welfare state army at the moment.
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  127.  @dustyak79  They can tell that they are Ukrainians they know the difference between Russians and Ukrainians. Europe could not tell who was from the middle east during its refugee crisis.
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  128. They have been developed from the ground up for Special Operations. That means it has to be capable of performing to their specifications.
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  129. For the price of a SAAB Gripen Ireland could have F16's.
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  130.  @bigjohn697791  F16 have a proven record and are cheaper than a Gripen. They both have a similar level of performance but price and scale win out of the F16.
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  131. No Ireland needs F35's and a series of other fighters and will need to invest about 40 to 80 billion on its air force.
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  132.  @michaellim4165  Ireland has a GDP of about $380 billion one of the world's highest per population. And 2.5 defence spending is about $10 billion per year. 40 to 80 billion is to get Ireland up to speed and then they have to spend 2.5% per year so as to ensure that Ireland can keep up its defence.
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  133.  @michaellim4165  The unit cost of an F35 is within the range of an F18. Ireland with a military budget of $10 billion per year could easily up keep a fleet of F35, F18 and other craft as need be. The initial cost I stated was for equipment buying and creating infrastructure which would be about $40 billion to 80 billion. Keeping that military running then could easily be achieved for $10 billion per year which would fall within normative budgetary requirements. Ireland has two options here either to have an air force to protect it as an island or a naval force to protect it self as an island. An air force is a much cheaper option.
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  134.  @michaellim4165  Spending $40 to $80 billion on upgrading Ireland's defence infrastructure is not 21% GDP only the year expenditure would be classified as a percentage of GDP. Ireland spending any less than $40 billion puts it at massive risk. The risk of global conflict is at an all time high and Ireland would be a prime target in such a war.
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  135. While it will not be designed for that primarily it most certainly will have a missile system that allows it to target fighter jets and other aircraft. US targeting systems will be capable of targeting up to several simultaneous enemies at the same time. Ground troops will also be able to provide targeting information.
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  136. Whatever aircraft that would be selected would then have to be designed from the ground up to be used by special operations.
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  137.  @RAFASOP  Ireland needs to spend about €50 billion on its military and then about €12 billion per year.
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  138.  @alltypesofvideos9902  Russia will destroy Ireland in a few days when they sweep through Europe and invade Ireland so they can use it as a staging ground to attack Britain from both sides. So Ireland either lets British forces in to help defence or it goes it alone but we know how that will end.
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  139. Nope. It is a complete platform that has been built from the ground up.
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  140. I am afraid Ireland needs a fully functioning air force made up of something like F15 and F16 crafts. And it then could be supplemented with Hawks.
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  141.  @EyeInTheSkypaulmcmenamin  For a country with economic state of Ireland with a €500 billion GDP it would need to spend about €50 billion building its defence force infrastructure and then spend about €12 billion per year to maintain that which equates to about 2.5% of GDP. Hungary spends €2 billion per year at present but Ireland is not even at that level and does not have the infrastructure that the hungarian defence forces have in place. As an Island Ireland has two routes it can go down to defend its Northern, Western Southern coast lines. It can either build out a naval force that can engage an invading threat or it can build an airforce that could defend out to about 400 naval miles.
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  142. Ireland current spends about 1 billion on its military and about 80% of that expenditure is on pensions. How realistic do you think these proposals are.
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  143. They are spending 3 billion on a program that will allow low speed aircraft to saturate a space with missiles. Those aircraft will be capable of taking out tanks and other vehicles and even buildings. They will also act like a recon system for ground troops. It can be taken down in parts and then transported on a cargo aircraft anywhere in the world.
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  144. Cheaper. Absolutely not. It is a platform that has been developed from the ground up specifically for special operations.
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