New Irish jet missing key part, thanks to anti-Israel ban

New $61-million state-of-the-art jet doesn't have important Israeli-made component to guide it through bad weather

Published Aug 04, 2026  •  Last updated 11 minutes ago  •  2 minute read

Irelands new government jet Photo by Supplied photo

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The government of Ireland just bought a $61-million state-of-the-art jet meant to ferry the country’s most important politicians all over the world.

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Too bad the Irish can’t properly fly it, thanks to a boycott on parts from Israel.

Ireland purchased the Dassault Falcon 6X, a large, long-range business jet made by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation. It can cruise at 51,000 feet, has a range of more than 10,000 km, and can go as fast as Mach 0.9.

Missing part

But according to the Irish Journal, Ireland’s new jet lacks one key component: The FalconEye system. It usually sits on the nose of the plane, guiding it safely to the ground in inclement conditions such as rain, fog and mist.

Now, one might think Ireland’s top politicos would want such a device as they fly around the world, particularly if they return to their perennially wet, overcast home country from a trip. The country gets, at best, 1,600 hours of sunshine a year. Cork Airport, the country’s second-busiest airport, gets 99 days worth of fog per year. You don’t go to the Emerald Isle to get a tan.

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So why wouldn’t the Irish want that operating system? Because it was made by Elbit Systems, a major Israeli defence and technology company. And Ireland won’t buy some Israeli products, part and parcel of a relationship between the two nations that has hit rock bottom.

Ireland’s anti-Israel stance

In the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre of Jews by the Palestinian Islamic terror group Hamas, the government of Ireland has maintained one of the most aggressively pro-Palestinian political stances in Europe. It has formally recognized a Palestinian state and has backed legal action against Israel, accusing it of genocide at the International Court of Justice. It has bans in place against senior Israeli officials, and Taoiseach (or Prime Minister) Michael Martin pledged in 2024 while still foreign minister that Ireland will not purchase Israeli-made products.

Israel, in response, closed its embassy in Ireland in late 2024, citing that government’s “extreme anti-Israel” policies. Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Sa’ar said that the Irish Republic “crossed every red line.”

“The actions and antisemitic rhetoric used by Ireland against Israel are rooted in the delegitimization and demonization of the Jewish state, along with double standards,” Sa’ar said. “Israel will invest its resources in advancing bilateral relations with countries worldwide according to priorities that also take into account the attitudes and actions of these states toward Israel.”

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