Greatest [Irish] Ace (served in the RAF during WWII) – Paddy Finucane.

The thread title got my attention ! 😀

When I read the first post about the pilot ‘ramming’ his Hurricane into a German bomber, I thought it was a kamikaze-type mission ………but he’s still alive ???!

With enough warning the could intercept a plane anywhere in NZ. But I agree getting the warning time is the issue.

As a matter of interest, what radar coverage is there in NZ ?

Perhaps Albania should consider purchasing the Aermacchi’s and Skyhawk A-4’s that the Royal New Zealand Air Force have in storage ?

Also, the PC-9M is a great basic-to-advanced trainer (the Irish Air Corps have recently purchased these) ……though the cost may prove prohibitive for the AAF.

Or perhaps Albania could follow Ireland’s route ……..forget about fighter jets and use a turboprop (e.g. PC-9M) for pilot training, weapons training and air-policing !

Interesting debate folks !

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a4s4eva,
Ireland does not have an ‘air force’, but it does have an air arm, namely the Irish Air Corps (Aer Chor na hÉireann).

Also, what ‘air force’ does Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Iceland, Luxemborg, Malta… posess ? …..answer = none !

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I often draw parellels between Ireland’s military situation and that of New Zealand’s.
Both countries are of similar population sizes and demographics, and both would question “who would want to attack us?” – hence no need for a fighter jet equipped air arm.
(Obviously, NZ does have the advantage(?) of it’s isolation from the rest of the world).

(Indeed in Ireland’s case, the last time we possesed ‘current’ fighter aircraft was when we operated Spitfires and Hurricanes during the WWII period).

The Irish Air Corps has always maintained a light attack capability. Ostensibily, this capability was for internal security, but in the event of a major world emergency, it would allow our pilots to transition to fighter aircraft in a shorter period than would otherwise be the case.

This also holds true with the decision to purchase our current fleet of armed PC-9M turboprops, which are used for:- pilot training (from ab-initio to advanced) weapons training, training with the Irish Army and Navy, and also for point air defence.

Could the PC-9M be a possible successor to the CT4 in RNZAF service ?