Ukraine wants to buy 11 German-made IRIS-T SLM air defense missile systems


According to information published by the German Newspaper "WELT" on July 22, 2022, Ukraine would be interested in acquiring eleven German-made Iris-T SLM air defense missile systems which could be partly financed by Germany.
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Air defense missile system IRIS-T SL launcher station mounted on MAN truck. (Picture source Wikimedia)


On June 1, 2022, the Army Recognition editorial team reported that Germany will provide Ukraine with the German-made IRIS-T air dense missile system manufactured by the company Diehl Defence.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Germany has always shown certain restraint in supplying offensive weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces, but in the case of the IRIS-T SLM, this weapon system is considered such as a defensive weapon that can be used to protect the city and people of Ukraine against aerial and missile attacks conducted by the Russian armed forces.

The IRIS-T SLM is a mobile surface-to-air defense missile system that was designed and developed by the German company Diehl BGT Defense. The missile can be used to counter and destroy aerial targets such as aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, guided weapons, air-to-surface missiles, anti-ship missiles, anti-radar rockets, and large-caliber rockets. It can be also used to destroy unmanned aerial vehicles at very short and medium-range distances.

The IRIS-T is a German-made short to a medium-range infrared homing air-to-air missile that was developed to intercept fast-moving and miniature targets, such as air-to-air/surface-to-air missiles and air-to-surface/surface-to-surface missiles and rockets, UAV/drones, and cruise missiles.

Based on the IRIS-T, the German company Diehl Defense has developed the IRIS-T SL, a land-based version. The missile can be launched from a vertical launcher station which can be mounted on wheeled or tracked combat vehicles. The IRIS-T SLM is the medium-range version of the IRIS-T SL.

The missile of the IRIS-T SLM has a maximum firing range of 40 km and an altitude of up to 20 km. The command and fire control vehicle is used to conduct the analysis of the threats and transmit firing orders to the launcher units. The vehicle is connected via a network to superior combat operation centers. The multi-function radar is able to detect aerial threats at a maximum range of 200 km on 360°. It can detect up to 500 objects at the same time.