Gripens for Ireland?

There are reports of the Irish Government considering the possibility of ordering a small batch of Saab Gripen Es for its small air arm. Planning for “an Irish intercept capability” was referred to in the Irish Defence Forces five-year equipment development plan as, since 2015, Russian bombers have frequently violated Ireland’s air space, with interceptors being routinely scrambled from “neighbouring countries” to intercept the aircraft. As per Professor Ben Tonra at the University College Dublin’s school of politics and international relations “the Saab Gripen would be a good choice because the politics surrounding fighter procurement would be as important as the aircraft’s capability. Since its inception, the Republic of Ireland has been militarily neutral, as is Sweden in world affairs and also an EU member”.