CEO of Diehl Defense: Germany to transfer new IRIS-T to Ukraine in a few weeks

Germany will provide Ukraine with additional IRIS-T air defense systems, one of which will be delivered in a few weeks.

Helmut Rauch, CEO of Diehl Defense, announced this.

On April 18, 2024, German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck and Diehl Defense CEO Helmut Rauch paid a working visit to Kyiv.

Answering journalists’ questions, they emphasized the importance of supporting Ukraine in the future and announced the delivery of a new IRIS-T system.

“Three of our systems are already in Ukraine, and more will be delivered this year. The next one will be delivered in just a few weeks,” Helmut Rauch, CEO of Diehl Defense, shared.

IRIS-T SLM air defense systems demonstrate high capabilities in protecting Ukrainian skies from Russian missiles and drones.

Read more on the IRIS-T anti-aircraft system in the article on Militarnyi.

Since the system is supplied to other European countries within the German Sky Shield initiative, Diehl is expanding its production capacity in addition to Ukraine.

In total, the German company is expected to produce seven air defense missile systems in 2024, which will be delivered to the respective customers.

The rate of production of missiles will also be increased, with about 400-500 units to be produced in 2024.

Since the missiles for the system are manufactured by several European companies and subcontractors, no significant increase in production rates can be expected. However, to solve this problem, Diehl will launch the production of scarce components in Germany.

The increased production of air defense systems and the transfer of additional systems will ensure better protection of Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure from Russian attacks.

In addition, the company is researching a long-range version of the missile, which will be equipped with an active homing head and will be able to intercept air targets at distances of up to 100 km.