The Defence Forces will be unseen during the upcoming royal and presidential visits unless things go badly wrong
THE DEFENCE Forces are putting in place a “doomsday” security operation for the visits of Queen Elizabeth and President Obama which will see the Navy, Army and Air Corps all mobilised.
The military operation is described as “low visibility, high impact” and while unlikely to be needed, will provide a strong military response, up to and including lethal action, to meet any threat that emerges.
Ground troops will be deployed at locations to be visited by both the Queen and Obama, to provide a rapid, lethal response to any serious situation should it be needed.
The Air Corps will use their surveillance aircraft to assess activity on the ground as the entourages of both visitors move between locations around the country and into major urban centres such as Dublin and Cork.
Armed helicopters will also be deployed in the skies to respond to any major incident on the ground.
The Air Corps aircraft and helicopters will be the only aircraft permitted into areas designated as no-fly zones by the Irish Aviation Authority in a bid to effectively lock down the skies over key locations at key times.
Air defence battalions will move around on the ground shadowing the visitors’ entourages.
They will have RBS70 surface to air missiles at the ready to deal with any airborne threat, however unlikely that scenario may seem.
The Naval Service will also be on patrol enforcing an exclusion zone on stretches of water over which aircraft carrying the Queen and the US president to and from the Republic will fly.
Army snipers are to be deployed on rooftops around locations in Dublin, Kildare and Cork to be visited during the Queen’s visit. The same precautions will be taken for Obama, with most snipers deployed to aid the Garda operation when he addresses crowds in Dublin city.
Gardaí believe the biggest threat will be to the Queen and will come from dissident republican groups.
While the chances of such a group striking directly against the monarch are remote, it is feared they may attempt to stage a bomb attack in the North or UK in protest at the visit while it is still under way.
Obama is most at risk from Islamist extremists or possibly from militant anti-war activists, any of whom would see even a high-profile breach of security as a successful form of protest.
