Diehl Defence Prepares IRIS-T Missiles for Ukrainian F-16s

Ukrainian F-16 fighter jets are likely to be equipped with German IRIS-T short-range air-to-air missiles.

FlightGlobal reported on this, citing Diehl Defence’s Chief Program Director Harald Buschek.

“The Ukrainian Air Force’s F-16s will most likely be equipped with our IRIS-T missiles—that is exactly what we are preparing for right now,” he stated, without providing further details.

Although Ukraine has not yet integrated this missile into its transferred F-16s, the Air Force already has significant experience operating IRIS-T missiles integrated into the ground-based IRIS-T SLS and IRIS-T SLM systems.

According to Diehl Defence CEO Helmut Rausch, these systems demonstrate a hit rate of over 95% against cruise missiles and drones.

“It is also very important to the customer that we supply missiles on a monthly basis, without interruption. The feedback we receive from Ukraine indicates that they are very satisfied,” he emphasized.

It is worth noting that the integration of IRIS-T missiles on the F-16 is not a new development. In 2005, unlike other European countries that ordered newer versions of the AIM-9X, Norway replaced the outdated AIM-9Ls on its F-16s with IRIS-T missiles.

Ukraine is set to receive at least six fighters modified in this way from Norway. However, despite the formal transfer of ownership in 2024–2025, as of April 2026 they were still at the Sabena facility in Belgium, undergoing repairs prior to the actual transfer.

According to estimates at the time, significant capacity constraints at the facility meant that the complete overhaul and preparation of the former Norwegian fighter jets for transfer could take another year or so.

In June 2025, it was announced that the country had planned to transfer 14 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, while officially announcing the delivery of six aircraft.

It is likely that the “surplus” eight aircraft were unfit for flight and could have been transferred for training technical personnel, dismantling for spare parts, or use as decoys.

At the same time, it cannot be ruled out that some of the unannounced F-16s could be repaired and restored to a condition suitable for further operation.