Sweden Orders IRIS-T SLS Air Defense Launchers to Counter Russian Missiles and Drones.

Sweden has ordered additional IRIS-T SLS short-range air defense launchers from Diehl Defence, expanding its ground-based air defense inventory as part of a broader modernization push. The move reflects growing urgency across NATO’s northern flank as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues to drive investment in layered, mobile air defense.

Diehl Defence announced on 11 December 2025 that the company confirmed a new Swedish order for additional launchers for the IRIS-T-SLS short-range ground-based air defence system, backed by a comprehensive logistics package that includes spare parts. The contract was placed by Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration, FMV, and extends a long-standing industrial relationship in which Stockholm has been both a user and a development partner for the IRIS-T missile family. For Sweden, the timing matters as the country accelerates its layered air defense posture in the shadow of Russia’s war in Ukraine and its direct consequences for Nordic and Baltic security.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link

IRIS-T-SLS is a mobile short-range air defense system using an agile imaging infrared missile to defeat low-flying aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, and drones (Picture source: Swedish MoD).

At the heart of the Swedish purchase is the IRIS-T missile itself, an imaging infrared guided weapon built around a wide field of view seeker, advanced image processing designed for strong resistance to countermeasures, and thrust vector control that delivers very high agility in the endgame. Diehl has also highlighted the missile’s ability, enabled by its proximity fuze and accuracy, to defeat not only aircraft and helicopters but also incoming missiles, a key design point now validated by the war’s mass cruise missile and drone attacks. In the SLS configuration, Sweden uses the standard air-to-air missile for surface-to-air engagements, creating a rare logistics advantage where a single missile lineage supports both fighter aviation and ground defense.

Operationally, IRIS-T SLS is intended to sit in the SHORAD layer, protecting maneuver brigades and key nodes against low-altitude threats that appear with little warning, including helicopters using terrain masking, small drones, and cruise missiles flying below the radar horizon. Swedish government reporting describes the system, known locally as Fire Unit 98, as a brigade safeguard specifically focused on low flight level threats, complementing higher-tier systems rather than replacing them. Public Swedish procurement details indicate the wider investment includes new launchers, modern short-range radars, and updated command and control to integrate existing and new SLS assets into an air defence brigade construct.

Sweden’s urgency is tied to lessons learned in Ukraine. In a June 2025 decision tied to European Sky Shield Initiative cooperation, Stockholm contracted seven IRIS-T SLM medium-range systems valued at about SEK 9 billion, describing air defense as a key lesson from Russia’s war of aggression. Each SLM system is described by Sweden as a vehicle-based package with multifunction radar, command and control for surveillance and targeting, two launchers, and supporting reload and maintenance elements, adding up to 49 vehicles across the order. The SLS launcher expansion announced this month fits that architecture by hardening the close-in ring around army units and critical infrastructure while Patriot and SLM cover higher and longer engagements.

The Swedish build points to mobile, networked air defense that can shoot and relocate before being targeted by counter-battery strikes or loitering munitions. Sensor pairing is central: systems in the IRIS-T ecosystem are routinely integrated with modern 3D radars, and platforms such as the TRML 4D are credited with tracking more than 1,500 targets in parallel, including fighters well beyond 100 km and supersonic missiles at significant distances, giving commanders time to allocate interceptors across a saturated raid. Diehl’s own SLM description stresses 360-degree coverage, mobility, and multiple target engagement with a low personnel requirement, a profile that aligns closely with the dispersed, fast-tempo air defense fight now seen on Europe’s eastern flank.

Against Western competitors, IRIS-T SLS is best read as a high-agility, passive terminal homing SHORAD solution optimized for low altitude threats, rather than a medium-range area defense system. NASAMS, built around the AMRAAM missile, is designed for widely dispersed deployments with significant separation between sensors, launchers, and fire control to extend coverage and survivability. The British Sky Sabre uses CAMM to provide point defence out to roughly 25 km against air-breathing threats, while MBDA’s VL MICA offers vertical launch coverage with infrared or radar guided variants depending on national doctrine. Sweden’s choice of IRIS-T SLS is less about maximum reach and more about a cost-efficient, highly responsive close-in shield that benefits from missile commonality with Gripen and from tight integration into a broader layered network.

For NATO, Sweden now fields IRIS-T SLS inside the Alliance, and Germany has been driving IRIS-T growth through deliveries to Ukraine and by integrating the SLM system into its own force structure as part of Europe’s rapidly expanding air defense base. The operator list is widening across NATO, with Estonia and Latvia moving jointly toward IRIS-T medium-range capabilities and additional allies selecting the system to reinforce national air defence. Beyond ground-based use, IRIS-T as an air-to-air missile is already operated by multiple NATO air forces, giving the program a broad coalition of users and a deep sustainment ecosystem, precisely the kind of resilience Sweden is seeking as Europe prepares for a prolonged confrontation with a revisionist Russia.