As guardian to much of western Europe’s technology infrastructure, the responsibilities Ireland faces in a digital economy are ever increasing. Recent incursions by Russian communications and reconnaissance aircraft into the North Atlantic have shown that the country is not sufficiently prepared to deal with this threat. At the same time, Shannon Airport’s importance as a passenger gateway has been declining ever since the 1960s. An opportunity now exists to leverage the airport’s geographic location once again and bring Ireland’s defence capabilities into the modern era.

In this episode of the podcast I talk about recent incursions of Russian TU-142 aircraft into Irish controlled airspace, the link with coronavirus vaccine spying and an alternative role for Shannon Airport as a centre for Irish maritime patrol and military air transport.

In the first full episode of the podcast, I discuss the developments in aerospace infrastructure since COVID-19 took hold and where infrastructure spending may be directed in the coming months and years.

As airports across the world brace for a drastic reduction in passenger throughput, capital expenditure has come under increased pressure. While some European airports have taken advantage of the quieter skies to carry out major works, in the UK the opposite has been true. Nevertheless, any activity is likely to be short term leaving the construction and engineering sector in need of an outlet to survive.

"We were primed for adventure. We valued our freedom more highly than we valued our safety or our income. Perhaps that same spirit will have to return to the culture before we can enter a new Golden Age of space exploration" - Don Eyles, Apollo Guidance Software Engineer