Sweden invests in IRIS-T SLS air defence system to reshape security in Northern Europe.

Sweden has signed a 3.5 billion kronor package to expand its ground-based short-range air defence, centered on new IRIS-T SLS platoons with Saab Giraffe 1X radars and updated C2 systems. The move strengthens protection of army brigades against drones, cruise missiles, and low-flying aircraft while further cementing Sweden’s contribution to NATO’s northern air and missile defence posture.

On 25 November 2025, Defence Minister Pål Jonson, flanked by the Swedish Armed Forces and the Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), unveiled a 3.5 billion kronor investment in short-range, ground-based air defence built around the IRIS-T SLS system and its supporting radars, vehicles, and command posts. The contracts, aligned with the 2024 Defence Resolution, translate policy into concrete platoon-level fire units for the army’s air defence brigade and two manoeuvre brigades, giving Swedish ground forces an organic shield against missiles, drones, helicopters, and low-flying aircraft.
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Sweden is buying 3.5B kronor of IRIS-T SLS short-range air defence, adding brigade-level drone and missile protection and deepening NATO’s northern shield. (Picture source: Swedish MoD)

The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration formalises a set of contracts worth 3.5 billion kronor, of which 2 billion are allocated to the acquisition of new Infrared Imaging System Tail/Thrust Vector Controlled Surface Launched Short Range (IRIS-T SLS) systems, short-range radars, spare parts, and modernised command and air operations control (C2) systems. The remaining 1.5 billion kronor funds the purchase of vehicles and integration work needed to link launchers, sensors, and C2 nodes within a coherent architecture at the air defence brigade level. The package represents the equivalent of four fire units or platoons, assigned to Norrbotten Regiment I 19 and Skaraborg Regiment P 4, reinforcing army air defence and providing organic protection for manoeuvre formations in the north and centre of the country.

The IRIS-T SLS system is the core of this capability increase. Designed by German group Diehl Defence, it is based on the IRIS-T air-to-air missile, reused in a surface-to-air role without losing its high manoeuvrability or its imaging infrared seeker. Classified as a short-range air defence (SHORAD) system, IRIS-T SLS retains a high-explosive fragmentation warhead optimised for aerial targets and fire-and-forget guidance, which allows the engagement of several threats in parallel. The missile, approximately 2.9 metres long with a diameter of 127 millimetres and a mass of about 87 kilograms, offers a range of up to 12 kilometres and altitude coverage up to 8 kilometres, with a speed above Mach 3 according to industrial data. This reduces reaction time against cruise missiles, attack aircraft, or drones entering the defended area.

In its ground-launched version, IRIS-T SLS is fired from a lightweight launcher module housed in a 10-foot ISO frame, usually carrying four to six ready-to-fire missiles. Mounted on a rotating platform, the launcher provides 360-degree coverage and allows engagement from any direction without heavy repositioning. Sweden operates launchers fitted on articulated tracked Bv 410 vehicles and on high-mobility tactical trucks, and is examining configurations on BvS10-type vehicles for Arctic and amphibious environments. This mix of 4x4 or 6x6 wheeled chassis and articulated carriers provides flexibility of deployment, from urban areas to the demanding terrain of the north. By using the same missile as the JAS 39 Gripen fighter fleet, Stockholm maintains continuity in stocks and maintenance while extending the use of IRIS-T to close protection of ground units.

For detection and fire control, the Swedish investment includes the Saab Giraffe 1X radar as the main sensor for the new platoons. The Giraffe 1X is a three-dimensional X-band radar with an active electronically scanned array (AESA), providing 360-degree coverage, rapid air picture refresh, and the ability to track a large number of targets simultaneously, including small, low-signature drones. Its instrumented range, on the order of several tens of kilometres, enables local airspace surveillance and the detection of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at short distances. In Swedish service, these radars feed C2 vehicles and command posts with engagement-quality data, reducing the delay between detection and firing for IRIS-T SLS units and improving the brigade’s ability to deal with low-altitude, hard-to-detect threats.

IRIS-T SLS launchers and Giraffe 1X radars together provide a very short-range air defence layer designed to move with brigades and protect their movements against a broad spectrum of current air threats. Each platoon can create a protection bubble of around twelve kilometres in depth around manoeuvre units, logistics nodes, or temporary assembly areas, with overlapping coverage when fire units are dispersed along an axis of advance. Passive infrared guidance reduces vulnerability to jamming and allows silent engagements without radar emission at launcher level, while networked C2 nodes provide a common air picture to coordinate dispersed launchers. The combination of high mobility, short reaction times, highly manoeuvrable missiles, and fire-and-forget logic supports shoot-and-scoot tactics in contested environments, including against saturation attacks or drone swarms.

The new short-range platoons are part of a wider recapitalisation of Swedish air defence. Earlier in 2025, FMV ordered seven IRIS-T Surface Launched Medium Range (IRIS-T SLM) fire units worth around 9 billion kronor under the European Sky Shield initiative, providing a roughly 40-kilometre medium-range layer for the army, with deliveries planned from 2028. In parallel, the government selected the Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) for Visby-class corvettes, stepped up counter-drone programmes, invested in modernisation of the Saab Gripen C/D fleet, and deployed Patriot PAC-3+ batteries that provide upper-layer coverage against high-altitude and ballistic threats. Over the last six months alone, Sweden has committed more than 20 billion kronor to air defence, with the 3.5 billion kronor IRIS-T SLS package addressing the very short-range requirement around army brigades.

This latest order consolidates Sweden’s entry into NATO as a state that does not rely solely on allied air defence but also contributes credible short- and medium-range capacity on the Alliance’s northern flank. The investment reflects lessons drawn from Ukraine, where Russian cruise missiles, ballistic systems, and drones test national air defence daily and where the IRIS-T family has built an operational track record. By deepening industrial links with German firm Diehl Defence and strengthening Saab’s role as supplier of radars and systems integration, Stockholm also contributes to the European Sky Shield architecture and to the European Union’s effort to expand its defence industrial base. For partners in the Baltic region and the High North, a Swedish army equipped with IRIS-T SLS at brigade level sends a clear signal of Stockholm’s intention to occupy a forward position within NATO’s integrated air and missile defence, rather than remaining at its periphery.

Written By Erwan Halna du Fretay - Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group

Erwan Halna du Fretay is a graduate of a Master’s degree in International Relations and has experience in the study of conflicts and global arms transfers. His research interests lie in security and strategic studies, particularly the dynamics of the defense industry, the evolution of military technologies, and the strategic transformation of armed forces.