Germany approves the supply of IRIS-T air defense missile systems to Ukraine.

According to information published by the International Press Agency Reuters on June 1, 2022, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that Germany will provide Ukraine with the German-made IRIS-T air dense missile system manufactured by the company Diehl Defence.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link

The launcher weapon station of the Iris-T missile can be mounted on tracked or wheeled chassis. (Picture source Dhiel Defense)

At the end of April 2022, Germany had promised to boost its aid to Ukraine with an increase of military support for foreign countries to €2 billion, of which a large share will go to Ukraine to help it purchase weapons, said the German Finance Minister Christian Lindner.

On May 14, 2022, Army Recognition reported that Germany was studying the possibility of delivering of the German-made Diehl Defence IRIS-T SLM air defense missile systems to Ukraine.

Citing open source information, since the beginning of the war, Germany has already delivered or will supply to Ukraine 1,000 Panzerfaust 3 anti-tank weapons, 500 Stinger anti-aircraft missile systems, 2,700 Strela-2M ex-Soviet made anti-aircraft missile systems, 5,100 MATADOR anti-tank weapons, 1,000 anti-tank mines, 50 Gepard 35mm anti-aircraft armored vehicles, 7 PzH 2000 155mm tracked self-propelled howitzers as well as different types of drones and individual military equipment.

The German Company Dhiel Defence has developed the surface-to-air defense missile system IRIS-T SL which is an upgraded version of the IRIS-T medium-range infrared homing air-to-air missile which is mounted on fighter aircraft.

The IRIS-T SL/SLM surface-to-air missile can be launched from tracked or wheeled platforms. The IRIS-T SLM system is an export version of the anti-aircraft missile system offered along with the IRIS-T SL missile, which is based on the IRIS-T air-to-air missile.

The IRIS-T SLM is a surface-to-air defense missile system designed and manufactured by the German company Diehl Defense. This air defense missile system has been optimized for 360° protection of objects, areas and mobile troop units in current and future mission scenarios in mobile and stationary 24/7 operation, in all weather conditions, with minimum personnel and least logistic effort.

The IRIS-T SLM air defense system is designed to engage and destroy a wide range of aerial threats including modern fighter aircraft, cruise missiles, drones, and tactical attack missiles as well as short-range ballistic missiles. Even helicopters and aircraft featuring small radar cross-sections and extreme maneuverability can be hit directly. High hit probability is achieved through precise control of the missile during terminal approach by a high-resolution, imaging IR seeker rendering countermeasures, including blinding lasers, ineffective.

The launcher unit of the IRIS-T SLM is based on 8x8 military truck chassis with a crew cab at the front and two blocks of four-tube launchers each able to fire one surface-to-air missile at a maximum firing range of 40 km and an altitude of up to 20 km.