Since the beginning of the Ukraine war the Javelin anti-armour missile has become one of the best-known and most sought-after weapons in the world.
The portable anti-tank system has been used by Ukraine to devastating impact against Russian armoured vehicles. The missile system, weighing just 22kg, can be operated by a three-person team. Its guided projectile can hit a target two kilometres away with more than 90 per cent accuracy.
The Javelin missile contains two explosive charges: the first penetrates armour; the second, larger, explosion can blow the turret off a tank, as happened many times in Ukraine. Ukraine has become a graveyard for Russian tanks, giving rise to an image of the Virgin Mary with one of the weapons and the moniker Saint Javelin as a symbol of the country’s resistance.
Little wonder many people lobbied at the start of the Ukraine war for Ireland to hand over its stock of approximately 100 Javelins to the Ukraine army, a move ruled out by the Government as it would be regarded as a breach of Irish neutrality.
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Instead the Javelins will be travelling to the Middle East with the 343 personnel consisting of 334 Irish Defence Forces soldiers and nine armed forces of Malta soldiers making up the 123rd Infantry Battalion.
They will be deploying to south Lebanon at the beginning of November and at an extremely volatile time.
According to battalion commander Lieut Col Stephen Mac Eoin, the Irish troops hope not to use the Javelins, but are mandated to do in certain circumstances. “In our own scenario, we don’t anticipate that threat because it is a peacekeeping mission, but there are armoured vehicles in the theatre and if that threat was to present itself, our soldiers are ready to use the Javelin system as required,” he said.
As part of live training exercises for deployment, the battalion fired three Javelin missiles at the army’s Glen of Imaal firing range in Co Wicklow. In the space of a couple of minutes €210,000 worth of taxpayers’ money went up literally and figuratively in a puff of smoke.
These missiles cost €70,000 each, a bargain in a combat situation where one missile can take out a main battle tank costing millions of euro, but in a firing exercise one that can lead to very expensive mistakes if not operated properly.
From behind a wall, three trained Javelin operators fired the missiles at an old vehicle a kilometre away which had a fire lit inside it so as to stimulate the missile’s heat-seeking capabilities.
Two of the missiles swooped down on the target, known as top cover, in which an armoured vehicle is hit on the roof; the third was a direct hit. On all three occasions the missiles hit the target with unerring accuracy, sending up a flash followed seconds later by the pressure wave from the explosion.
The dangers of the UNIFIL mission were illustrated last year when Pte Seán Rooney became the 48th Irish soldier to die in the Lebanon since the first Irish deployment in 1978. He was killed in an ambush outside the village of Al-Aqbiya on December 14th.
Twice since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th, Irish troops have gone into groundhog (taking shelter in protected positions) because of rocket exchanges between the Israeli and Hizbullah troops.
Despite entering an area even more volatile than it was last December, those who are waiting for deployment say they are trained and ready for anything they might encounter.
Pte Matthew Kinnaird (20) from Co Wexford serving with A Coy is the youngest member of the battalion. He admits his parents are concerned having read and watched the news and on social media, but he is relaxed.
“We have trained with every aspect so we are well equipped for anything that might happen,” he said.
“In this job, you grow up very quickly. I have been listening to all the NCOs around me and taking all their advice on board.”
Lt Essie O’Connell (25) from Cork is one of 20 women in the battalion deploying to Lebanon. She said the recent volatility along the border between Lebanon and Israel shows the “reasons why we should be there” and they have prepared for every scenario. “It’s very robust training for every eventuality. Everybody I have gone over with is very capable. I have always been eager to go over there.”
