Ireland’s new €53 million government jet was delivered without an advanced Israeli-made vision system designed to help pilots land in fog and other hazardous weather conditions, reportedly because acquiring it would have required a procurement agreement with Israeli defense company Elbit Systems.
The Dassault Falcon 6X, which is primarily used to transport Taoiseach Micheál Martin and government ministers, was delivered to the Irish Air Corps shortly before Christmas 2025. It replaced the government’s aging Learjet and is also intended for long-range medical evacuation missions.
The aircraft can carry up to 14 passengers and is operated from Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnell, near Dublin.
Falcon 6X aircraft can be fitted with Elbit’s FalconEye enhanced flight vision system, which combines infrared cameras, sensors and synthetic terrain imagery to provide pilots with a clearer picture of their surroundings in darkness, fog and other low-visibility conditions.
The system is mounted near the aircraft’s nose and transmits visual information directly to the cockpit. Dassault describes it as providing pilots with exceptional situational awareness in all weather conditions, during both daytime and nighttime operations.
Multiple sources told Irish news outlet The Journal that FalconEye was excluded from the government aircraft because purchasing it would have required the Irish state to enter into a direct agreement with Elbit Systems.
Former Irish Air Corps pilot Kevin Phipps said the system’s operational advantage was its ability to allow an aircraft to land in conditions that might force other planes to divert.
“The operational benefit of this system is the ability to land in fog when other aircraft would have to divert to another airport,” he told The Journal.
Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate in Dublin
(Photo: REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne)
Ireland’s Department of Defence rejected suggestions that the missing system had significantly impaired the aircraft, saying there were “no current limits on the operational capability of the aircraft.”
Sources familiar with the Falcon 6X nevertheless said that while the jet remains fully operational, the absence of FalconEye reduces the range of options available to pilots during poor weather and extremely low visibility.
The decision comes against the backdrop of Ireland’s increasingly hostile political stance toward Israel and pressure within the country to restrict purchases from Israeli defense companies over the war in Gaza.
Martin said in 2024, when serving as foreign minister and defense minister, that Ireland would not purchase equipment containing Israeli-manufactured components. The Irish government has also pushed for tougher European Union measures against Israel and has supported efforts to suspend parts of the relationship between Israel and the bloc.
Elbit Systems has faced protests and accusations in Ireland over its supply of military technology to Israel. The company and Israel reject allegations that they are complicit in genocide in Gaza.
Despite the government’s policy, several other aircraft recently ordered for the Irish military contain Israeli technology that could not easily be excluded.
Four Airbus helicopters being built for the Irish Air Corps include Helionix avionics developed by Airbus with technology supplied by Elbit. Those systems are considered integral to the helicopters and cannot be removed without changing the aircraft’s basic configuration.
Ireland’s new Airbus C295 maritime patrol aircraft also contain Israeli-manufactured radar systems.
The distinction, according to The Journal, is that those technologies are incorporated into the aircraft as essential systems, while FalconEye is an optional feature that would have required a separate procurement agreement with Elbit.
The government therefore accepted Israeli technology where it was considered inseparable from the aircraft but declined to purchase the optional FalconEye system for the jet carrying Ireland’s most senior officials.
Although the Department of Defence maintains that the Falcon 6X has no current operational limitations, aviation experts say its crews may be more likely to divert to another airport when confronted with dense fog or other severe visibility restrictions.