One lesson we can learn from the war in Ukraine is that warfare itself is constantly evolving. When Putin’s invasion started we witnessed his armoured columns driving towards Kyiv and ending in smouldering ruins. Presumably Putin envisaged his tanks rolling into Kyiv utterly unscathed, just as Soviet tanks rolled in to Dubcek’s Prague in 1968 to restore Russian imperial hegemony.

Now we know that heavy super tanks are extremely vulnerable to cheap attack drones.

Likewise, many experts now believe that aircraft carriers are, like heavy battleships of the 20th century, extremely vulnerable to missiles, mines and sea drones. They may be as obsolescent as gunboats became in the era of colonial warfare – useful only against weak and unsophisticated opponents.

This brings into focus Ireland’s defence strategy. We are told that we are investing up to €500 million in a French long-range radar system. It is not clear what exactly we can do if that radar, once installed, warns us of any serious threats. Are we to have aircraft or anti-aircraft missile systems to defend our airspace from such threats?

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