With the handover of the first of six IRIS-T SLM air defence systems ordered for the Luftwaffe and training for the system’s first operators now complete, the German Air Force has achieved initial operating capability (IOC) with the system.
The handover took place on 4 September 2024 at the Todendorf military training area in Schleswig-Holsteinin in the presence of high-ranking representatives from politics, industry and the Bundeswehr, headed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius, as well as representatives from member countries of the European Sky Shield Initiative.
After the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the Bundeswehr handed over numerous air defence systems to Ukraine in view of the high threat its forces faced and soon afterwards initiated the procurement of replacements and the expansion of Germany’s air defence system.
On 14 June 2023 the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag gave the go-ahead for the deployment of IRIS-T SLM to the German armed forces by approving the procurement of six fire units from the Bundeswehr’s special fund. Around EUR 950 million was provided for the procurement of the six systems and a total of 216 missiles. At the beginning of August 2024 Diehl Defence delivered the first IRIS-T SLM fire unit to the German Armed Forces Procurement Office. With today’s IOC declaration, the partners involved have reached a further milestone on schedule.
According to Diehl, the IRIS-T SLM systems are used to protect critical infrastructure, objects and people on the ground by defending against airborne threats from aircraft, missiles and drones. The systems from Diehl Defence thus make a significant contribution to the defence capability of Germany and other user nations.
The ultra-modern and agile IRIS-T SLM will strengthen the ground-based air defence of the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System in so-called close-range protection, according to Germany’s Federal Ministry of Defence. The system combats threats from the air such as drones, aircraft, helicopters and cruise missiles. In Ukraine, where several fire units have already been supplied by Germany, the system is proving itself under real combat conditions and protecting the population and infrastructure from Russian air attacks.
On the occasion of the handover Chancellor Scholz stated, “A new chapter in European air defence is taking shape here in Todendorf today. This chapter began with the turning point of Russia’s terrible attack on Ukraine and the European peace order. We quickly drew the necessary conclusions: by closing capability gaps and reducing procurement bureaucracy; by providing the necessary money, keyword special funds and 2% target; by co-operating closely with industry, including training; by starting to build a genuine European air defence within the framework of NATO. All of this was long overdue.”
Scholz named two consequences of the Russian invasion, the breach of the disarmament treaties and the rearmament in Russia: the establishment of a strong air defence in Germany and Europe with the European Sky Shield Initiative; and the protection provided by stand-off precision weapons, which is to be ensured temporarily by US missiles.
Pistorius stated at the ceremony, “You are not only experiencing what a turning point means, you can actually touch it, right here behind me,” he said. “Together, we have impressively demonstrated what we can achieve when everyone pulls together: the Bundestag, industry, BAAINBw [Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support] and, last but not least, the troops. Everyone worked hand in hand and at record speed. The first soldiers were trained on the system barely a month after it was delivered.”
Helmut Rauch, CEO of Diehl Defence, said at the handover, “I am proud that Diehl Defence, as a system house for ground-based air defence, has contributed to the German Air Force being able to declare its IOC for our IRIS-T SLM system today with its delivery reliability.”
With the delivery of the anti-aircraft missiles and integration into the NATO air defence system, the full capability of the unit equipped with the IRIS-T SLM system should be achieved by mid-2025. The conversion to the new weapon system is to be completed by mid-2027.
Equipped with the most modern air defence missile system in its range class, the Todendorf site will thus become the future location of Germany’s air defence missile force, according to Pistorius. “With our German IRIS-T system, we are also underlining Germany’s overall capabilities as a high-tech location,” he said.
An IRIS-T fire unit consists of the 3D radar, a tactical operations centre and three eight-unit launchers as well as auxiliary vehicles for maintenance and loading. There are also operational and training missiles. Hensoldt (radar equipment), Airbus Defense and Space (command and weapon deployment system), Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (carrier vehicles) and Rhode & Schwarz (wireless communication) are involved as subcontractors.
According to Diehl Defence, the company and the German Air Force have been jointly operating a training centre for IRIS-T SLM in Todendorf since the summer of 2023. Course participants from other customer nations can also be trained on the system there.
The core of the system is the IRIS-T (Infra Red Imaging System Tail/Thrust Vector-Controlled) missile, which entered service as an air-to-air missile in 2005. Further developments have enabled the missile to be used for land and sea-based air defence missions. With a length of 2.9 m and a weight of 88 kg, the missile is powered by a solid-fuel rocket engine to speeds of up to Mach 3. The application-dependent range is up to 40 km and is to be increased to 80 km with IRIS-T SLX system.
