Irish Army showcases €50m ‘digital’ battlefield kit

The Irish Army showed off its hi-tech fighting capability for the first time yesterday, using a battery of new equipment which gives it live battlefield views.

More than €50m worth of equipment was on show in an exercise on the Cork/Limerick/Tipperary border, while many of the troops taking part were equipped with iPads, 3G and 4G encrypted phones, and video cameras which have night-time capabilities.

The exercise also included troops from Sweden and Estonia, together with Norwegian and Latvian troops, all from the EU-controlled Nordic Battle Group.