Anti-Israel protesters demonstrate in front of the Central Bank of Ireland against the sale of Israeli bonds throughout the EU, in Dublin, Ireland, May 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

Ireland’s anti-Israel procurement policy has left Prime Minister Micheál Martin’s new €53 million government jet without a standard Israeli-made vision system that helps pilots land in fog and other low-visibility conditions, potentially forcing the aircraft to divert during severe weather.

The French-made Dassault Falcon 6X is ordinarily equipped with FalconEye, an advanced combined-vision system developed with Israeli defense company Elbit Systems. Mounted on the aircraft’s nose, the technology uses cameras, infrared sensors, and synthetic imagery to give pilots a clearer view of runways, terrain, and potential obstacles in darkness and poor weather.

However, Irish procurement officials ordered the aircraft without FalconEye because acquiring the system would have required the government to enter into a direct written agreement with Elbit, according to an investigation published by The Journal.

Officials reportedly determined that such an agreement would be “a step too far” under Ireland’s policy of avoiding purchases of Israeli-made defense equipment.

Dassault describes FalconEye as a standard feature on the Falcon 6X that provides pilots with enhanced situational awareness in all weather conditions. The system allows pilots to continue approaches in significantly reduced visibility and can reduce the likelihood that an aircraft will need to circle, abandon a landing, or divert to another airport.

Kevin Phipps, a former Irish Air Corps pilot who now flies commercially, told The Journal that the principal operational advantage was the “ability to land in fog when other aircraft would have to divert.”

Without the system, pilots retain the ability to operate the jet safely but have fewer options when approaching an airport in poor visibility.

Ireland’s Department of Defense insisted that “there are no current limits on the operational capability of the aircraft.” However, multiple sources familiar with the jet told The Journal that omitting FalconEye limits the range of approaches available to pilots during adverse weather.

The aircraft, delivered in December, is operated by the Irish Air Corps and is used primarily to transport Martin and other senior government officials. It can carry 14 passengers and was purchased to replace Ireland’s aging Learjet, which suffered repeated technical problems and had a substantially shorter range.

The Falcon 6X also serves broader government purposes, including medical evacuations, overseas missions, and the emergency extraction of Irish citizens from foreign countries.

Despite refusing FalconEye for the government jet, Ireland has accepted Israeli-made technology aboard other military aircraft when officials deemed it indispensable.

Four Airbus helicopters purchased for the Irish Air Corps contain Helionix cockpit technology produced in part by Elbit, while Ireland’s CASA C-295 maritime patrol aircraft carry Israeli-made radar systems. Officials reportedly concluded that those components could not practically be removed because they were integral to the aircraft.

The distinction, according to The Journal, was that purchasing FalconEye would have required Ireland to sign an agreement directly with the Israeli company.

Martin announced in August 2024, while serving as defense and foreign minister, that Ireland would cease purchasing equipment containing Israeli-made components amid the war in Gaza and mounting domestic pressure to sever economic ties with the Jewish state.

Ireland has since emerged as one of Israel’s most vocal critics in Europe. Relations between Dublin and Jerusalem have deteriorated sharply as Ireland recognized a Palestinian state, intervened in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, and advanced measures targeting economic activity connected to Israel.

Last month, Ireland enacted legislation prohibiting imports of goods produced in Israeli communities in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem. The government cited a 2024 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, while Israel has denounced such measures as discriminatory and rejected claims that Jewish communities in the disputed territories are inherently illegal.

The exclusion of FalconEye now provides a striking illustration of the practical consequences of Dublin’s anti-Israel policies: Ireland’s leaders will travel aboard a €53 million aircraft with fewer low-visibility capabilities because their government refused to contract with the Israeli company that produced them.