TRUMP BRINGS HIS NUKES
Sub and warship to join huge security operation
A NUCLEAR submarine with ballistic missiles will protect Donald Trump during his visit to Ireland.
A heavily-armed warship will shield Air Force One as the US President comes in to land at Shannon on June 5.
And up to 2,000 gardai backed by the Irish Army will turn Co Clare into a fortress for the three-day trip.
A source said: “This is the most powerful man in the world – we can’t let anything happen to him on our watch.”
DONALD Trump will be protected by a powerful warship and a nuclear submarine during his visit to Ireland next month.
The US Navy will secretly steer the vessels bristling with weapons towards the West coast in the days before the President touches down at Shannon on June 5.
The Irish Mirror has learned the Co Clare airport is already ringed with surface-to-air missiles ready to destroy any threat to Trump’s gigantic Air Force One jumbo jet.
Nearly 2,000 gardai are being drafted in to turn the area into Fortress Shannon – at a cost of nearly €10million.
All Garda annual leave and rest days are being cancelled for the duration of the visit.
And hundreds more troops from barracks across the country are being posted to Co Clare.
Mr Trump, 72, and his 49-year-old wife Melania will arrive on the morning of June 5 and meet with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at Shannon, before heading to his Doonbeg hotel for a round of golf.
He flies to Normandy in Northern France on June 6 to mark the D-day landings, returning to Doonbeg that night before flying home the next day.
UNPREDICTABLE
Irish Army Ranger snipers, backed up by elite Garda units, will patrol the golf course itself, some even hiding in bunkers.
One source said: “Trump will be protected by a huge army of soldiers, gardai, US Secret Service men and women – and a range of hi-tech weapons systems.
“A huge warship will keep in contact with his Air Force One jet as it crosses the Atlantic and move into position off the West coast. There will be at least one US submarine in the area.
“If any aerial threat is identified to the POTUS [President Of The United States] plane these ships will simply fire missiles to take them out.
“Then you have the SAMS [Surface To Air Missiles] all around Shannon itself to ensure there are no threats around the airport.”
The Irish Mirror has learned Mr Trump is bringing a nearly 600-strong team of Secret Service agents, bodyguards, advisers, military specialists and liaison officers with him.
The warship will even have a special trauma team with surgeons on board in the event of an attack on the president. More medics will accompany him on his jet. It’s expected Air Force Two will also make the trip to Ireland as back-up. Marine One, Mr Trump’s helicopter, will be transported to Ireland in the body of one of the jets, along with two other choppers. If the President decides to move around Co Clare by Marine One helicopter, he will be followed by the two other choppers laden with missiles ready to attack any hostile threat.
The Irish Air Corps will also provide back-up. The source added: “The gardai and Irish Army would prefer to keep him off the road and to move him by air from Shannon to Doonbeg.
“This would be the Americans’ preferred option too.
“But Trump is so unpredictable, he might opt to go by road from the airport to Doonbeg. And we have to be prepared for that.
“If that happens the road will be completely shut down with gardai placed along the entire route, backed up by the Irish Army. All junctions and flyovers will be manned by armed gardai along the motorway.”
Maintenance crews are currently counting and marking every manhole and drain along the N19 and M18 in preparation for a presidential cavalcade by road. They are then sealed and double-checked.
If Mr Trump travels by car, it will be in his specially designed Cadillac nicknamed “The Beast”.
Boasting five-inch thick bullet-proof glass, it is virtually bombproof and is kitted out with a tear gas cannon, an armoured fuel tank filled with foam to
prevent explosion, pump-action shotguns and two pints of the President’s blood.
It has run-flat tyres in case all four are ever shot out, night-vision optics and is hermetically sealed to prevent a chemical attack.
The doors are eight inches thick and the car is said to be armed with rocket-propelled grenades.
Any motorcade will involve more than two dozen vehicles, including “The Beast”, plus large black jeeps full of heavily-armed Secret Service men and women. The Irish Army Engineers Corps will weld all metal manhole covers and seal them tight.
Different routes from Shannon to Doonbeg have been mapped out.
Gardai at the airport have already erected a security box and are monitoring all traffic round the clock.
Uniformed and plain-clothed officers are combing Shannon airport and the 400-acre property at Doonbeg.
Towers are being built all around the golf course to allow the Secret Service and Garda snipers a better view.
Shannon will become a no-fly zone while Air Force One approaches from the US.
It will be in place for most of his trip, apart from the time the jet leaves Irish airspace for France.
Already companies in Shannon are being asked to submit details of any employees expected to work in the area while the visit is taking place. The Garda’s Special Detective Unit is working 24/7 keeping up surveillance on radical elements, focusing on Middle Eastern fundamentalists.
The source said: “There are about 30 of interest to the Garda’s Crime and Security branch, which is tasked with the safety of the State.
“Plus we’re keeping an eye on all the usual protesters who might potentially cause trouble.”
The Irish taxpayer will have to cough up another €1million on top of the Garda costs to cover the Army and local authority spend on the trip. The source added: “All in this could cost the taxpayer around €11million when you take in Garda plus Defence Forces and local authority costs.
“But it has to be done. This is the most powerful man in the world – we cannot let anything happen to him on on our watch.
“Plus it will be a chance to showcase the beautiful West of Ireland to the entire world. Let’s just hope we get the weather now when Donald takes to his golf course.”