BEIRUT, Lebanon — An Irish Air Corps C295 military transport aircraft successfully completed a high-risk mission to Rafic Hariri International Airport on Friday, extracting a team of stranded personnel and rotating senior leadership into the volatile region. The operation marks the first “strategic reach” mission of its kind for the Irish Defence Forces since the escalation of hostilities in Southern Lebanon earlier this month.
Strategic Airlift in a Conflict Zone
The mission was prompted by the cancellation of scheduled civilian flights due to intensified Israeli airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs. This disruption had left 26 key personnel from the 127th Infantry Battalion—including battalion headquarters staff, medical officers, and communications specialists—unable to return to their posts at United Nations Post 2-45 (Camp Shamrock).
Simultaneously, a team of army engineers and communication specialists, who had been performing critical maintenance on rebroadcast towers and armored fleet hardware, required extraction after becoming stuck following the launch of the IDF ground incursion on March 2.
Coordination and Deconfliction
To ensure the safety of the aircraft and its passengers, the mission required a complex “deconfliction” protocol:
- Diplomatic Channels: The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Defence worked behind the scenes to secure necessary clearances through active warzones.
- Force Protection: On the ground in Lebanon, the 127th Infantry Battalion deployed a heavily armed convoy of MOWAG Armoured Personnel Carriers to secure the route from Camp Shamrock to the airport.
- Rapid Turnaround: To minimize exposure, the C295 spent only 90 minutes on the tarmac. The crew performed a “rapid transfer” of personnel and material, opting not to refuel in Beirut to ensure a swift “wheels up” departure.
Testing New Capabilities
The mission utilized the Air Corps’ newest transport variant of the Airbus C295, which was delivered in October 2025. Military sources noted that the aircraft’s specialized configuration allowed it to bypass the risks that grounded commercial carriers, providing the State with an independent tactical airlift capability for the first time in such a high-intensity environment.
The aircraft overnighted in Cyprus on Thursday to comply with mandatory crew rest periods before making the final leg into Beirut on Friday afternoon. Following the successful exchange, the C295 has safely exited Lebanese airspace, while the ground convoy returned to the Irish area of operations in the south.
Irish Air Corps CASA CN-235-100MP Persuader Picture by William Murphy | For Illustration Purposes Only
