Ukraine will receive two IRIS-T air defense systems from Germany by the end of the year

Germany is planning to supply Ukraine with two IRIS-T air defense systems by the end of this year.

Anka Feldhusen, German Ambassador to Ukraine, shared this in her interview with European Pravda.

“The first system, I hope, will be shipped in October. I really hope that the second system will arrive by the end of this year,” the German Ambassador said.

In total, Germany plans to transfer 4 such systems to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Two of them will be shipped in early 2023.

As previously reported, in June 2022, Ukraine signed a contract with the German Diehl Defense to purchase the IRIS-T SL anti-aircraft missile system. The German government will allocate money for the purchase.

The basis of the air defense system is the IRIS-T (InfraRed Imaging System Tail) missile equipped with infrared guidance, created on the basis of a same-named air-to-air missile.

Launchers can have a wheeled (MAN 8×8) or tracked chassis (two-section all-terrain BvS10 vehicle) and contain 4 launchers or 8 containers with missiles.

Modifications of medium and small radius are available. The IRIS-T SLM can hit targets at a distance of up to 40 km, and the “shorter” version of the SLS can reach up to 25 km.

The main sensor of the system is the Australian CEAFAR GBMMR radar with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) 3D radar.

The German TRML-4D radar (Hensoldt) can also be applied in the system, which allows detecting targets at a distance of up to 250 km.

The system was created in 2014, and since 2019, the only operator of the system is Sweden. The German government issued an export permit for 23 units for Egypt.