The Government is devising plans to double the size of Casement Aerodrome, the Air Corp’s headquarters, to accommodate a fleet of new aircraft.
The proposals will see the construction of up to five new hangars at the Dublin facility and the refurbishment of several existing buildings at a cost of up to €120 million.
The new buildings are deemed necessary to accommodate the Air Corps’ expanding fleet of helicopters and fixed wing aircraft.
There is not enough room in the existing hangars for all three of the Air Corps’ newly acquired Airbus C295s, designed for long range military transport and maritime patrol.
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This means when not in use, one of the aircraft must sit on the tarmac, exposed to the elements.
Extra space will also be required for a new fleet of “super-medium” helicopters for troop transport, search and rescue and air ambulance operations.
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The State has already announced a deal for four smaller Airbus H145M helicopters. These will be used for pilot training and to enhance the Air Corps “intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and light combat capabilities,” the Department of Defence said earlier this year.
The Air Corps will also shortly take possession of a new ministerial transport aircraft, commonly known as the Government Jet, which was acquired for €53 million.
The Government has committed to significantly upgrading the capabilities of the Air Corps as part of the implementation of the recommendations from the Commission on the Defence Forces.
As part of the Government’s plans, known as Level of Ambition 2, the Irish Air Corps will be officially renamed the Irish Air Force and will expand its fleet of fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft.
The organisation will also be given “parity of esteem” with the Army and Naval Service. Traditionally, it has been treated as a branch of the Army, rather than a stand-alone service.
Plans for Casement are outlined in tendering documents published by the Department seeking firms to help design the project.
Phase one will see the renovation of two existing hangars for aircraft parking and the construction of an entirely new hangar which will serve as a base maintenance facility. This will cost an estimated €85 million.
The documents state there are “proposals” for an additional four hangars at an estimated cost of €40 million.
Once the current expansion and reforms have been implemented, the Government will move towards “Level of Ambition 3”, which will see the acquisition of a squadron of “jet combat aircraft” as part of a broader national air defence plan.
These will require their own specialised hangars. However, the current proposals for Casement do not include accommodation for jet combat aircraft.
Under provisional plans, these aircraft, should they eventually be acquired, will probably operate from facilities at Shannon Airport rather than Casement.
In recent months, the Air Corps has operated maritime patrol aircraft from Shannon to monitor the presence of Russian ships off the Irish coast.
This was necessary as the Air Corps did not have enough trained air traffic controllers to keep Casement operating at the weekends.
That situation has now been rectified and the airfield is again operating on a seven-day basis.
