Defence Forces scramble aircraft after Russian government ships spotted off west coast
Defence Forces scramble aircraft after Russian government ships spotted off west coast
Ships observed acting strangely near subsea cables off Galway. It was later determined they were probably avoiding poor weather
Two maritime patrol aircraft belonging to the Irish Air Corp, which had to place a pair of Russian ships under surveillance this week. Photograph: Marc O'Sullivan
Conor Gallagher
Wed Mar 29 2023 - 01:00
The Defence Forces scrambled to deploy ships and aircraft this week after spotting two Russian government vessels off the west coast equipped with technology capable of interfering with subsea cables.
Suspicions were raised when the ships were spotted loitering near a newly operational communications cable linking Ireland and Iceland.
Both ships had been involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, resulting in them being sanctioned by the US government.
After being spotted earlier this week, the ships were put under surveillance by Air Corps aircraft and Naval Service assets. However, later analysis determined the ships’ unusual movements were probably a result of efforts to avoid bad weather, rather than anything sinister.
Defence Forces scramble aircraft after Russian government ships spotted off west coast
Ships observed acting strangely near subsea cables off Galway. It was later determined they were probably avoiding poor weather
Two maritime patrol aircraft belonging to the Irish Air Corp, which had to place a pair of Russian ships under surveillance this week. Photograph: Marc O'Sullivan
Conor Gallagher
Wed Mar 29 2023 - 01:00
The Defence Forces scrambled to deploy ships and aircraft this week after spotting two Russian government vessels off the west coast equipped with technology capable of interfering with subsea cables.
Suspicions were raised when the ships were spotted loitering near a newly operational communications cable linking Ireland and Iceland.
Both ships had been involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, resulting in them being sanctioned by the US government.
After being spotted earlier this week, the ships were put under surveillance by Air Corps aircraft and Naval Service assets. However, later analysis determined the ships’ unusual movements were probably a result of efforts to avoid bad weather, rather than anything sinister.
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Summary
Irish Defense Forces scramble aircraft and ships after two Russian government vessels equipped with technology capable of interfering with subsea cables were spotted off the west coast, near a new communication cable linking Ireland and Iceland. Suspicions were raised due to their prior