Belfast factory to make 5,000 air defence missiles for Ukraine in €2bn deal

By Ted Hennessey, PA

The UK has signed a £1.6 billion (€2 billion) deal to supply more than 5,000 air defence missiles to Ukraine using export finance.

British prime minister Keir Starmer said on Sunday that the lightweight-multirole missiles (LMM) will be made in Belfast, creating 200 jobs.

He added: “This will be vital for protecting critical infrastructure now and strengthen Ukraine in securing the peace when it comes because we have to learn from the mistakes of the past.”

The missiles, which are capable of flying at 1.5 times the speed of sound and striking targets over 6km away, can be used to attack enemy vehicles, boats and drones.

They will be manufactured at the Thales weapons plant in Castlereagh.

UK defence secretary John Healey said: “This new support will help protect Ukraine against drone and missile attacks but it will also help deter further Russian aggression following any end to the fighting.

“This new deal delivers on the UK’s ironclad commitment to step up military support for Ukraine whilst boosting jobs and growth at home.”

The contract will be funded by a loan underwritten by United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF).

Meanwhile, Tánaiste Simon Harris said he will be bringing a proposal for a package of €100 million in financial assistance for non-lethal military support for Ukraine to Cabinet this week.

During an appearance on RTÉ’s This Week programme on Sunday, Mr Harris said Ireland and Europe will continue to stand with Ukraine following a public Oval Office row between US president Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Mr Harris said he had a “deep sense of being unsettled” when he saw the exchange.

He said his plan for additional non-lethal military support will be brought to the Cabinet on Tuesday.

He said: “That will basically involve providing money that will be used to purchase things like armoured vehicles, that can assist in demining and cyber protection measures, non-lethal use of military equipment.

“Separate but linked to that will be the European Council meeting later in the week where the European Union will decide a package of support that it wishes to put in place, and Ireland will obviously have to contribute to that as well.

“Whatever the cost is, the cost of not paying it is much more significant in terms of the security of the European Union, in terms of the defence of a sovereign country, the largest country on the continent of Europe.

“This is a time to be on the right side of history and to actually stand up for the UN charter, stand up for freedom, stand up for a country’s sovereignty.”

The Tánaiste also confirmed that draft legislation to amend the “triple lock” on the deployment of Defence Forces peacekeepers overseas will be brought to the Cabinet this week.

Mr Harris said Ireland’s “proud tradition” in peacekeeping cannot be held up by “paralysis at UN”.

He insisted the proposed changes had “nothing whatsoever to do” with military neutrality.

Under the current system, Ireland cannot deploy any more than 12 Defence Forces peacekeepers overseas without a peacekeeping mission being approved by a vote of the UN Security Council – as well as approval by the Government and the Dáil.

Mr Harris said he was proposing increasing the number of troops who could be sent on peacekeeping missions without triggering the triple lock from 12 to 50.

He said: “That is in line with military advice. That 50 includes all of the various personnel that would be required to go on a mission.

“Secondly, I am proposing instead of the UN Security Council and effectively Putin or others having a veto on where our troops go, that missions would have to be in line with the UN Charter.

“This has nothing whatsoever to do with military neutrality. We are remaining militarily neutral.

“I value Irish neutrality, we are not joining any military alliances.

“But it does mean we have to be empowered to work particularly with other European countries on peacekeeping missions.”