Ukraine strikes major deal to boost air defense capability
Ukraine has entered into a memorandum with Diehl Defence, the manufacturer of IRIS-T missiles, focusing on the joint development of the system in the future and promising to triple the supply of missiles for the air defense systems provided to Ukraine.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umierov announced the signing of a cooperation memorandum with the German company Diehl Defence. Diehl Defence produces, among other products, the IRIS-T SLM and SLS anti-aircraft systems and missiles.
This agreement paves the way for significant industrial projects to enhance Ukrainian air defense. Moreover, it includes plans to triple Ukraine's supply of IRIS-T family missiles.
IRIS-T SLM and SLS — a core part of Ukrainian air defense
In the second year of the war, Ukraine had almost depleted its own and Western-supplied stock of missiles for Soviet-era anti-aircraft systems. It now primarily relies on Western systems or makeshift Soviet-era solutions adapted to use Western missiles.
While support for medium-range systems capable of countering ballistic missiles is insufficient, the situation is more favorable for short-range systems. Among the most frequently supplied systems from the West, alongside the Norwegian-American NASAMS batteries, are the German IRIS-T SLM and SLS systems.
Ukrainians have claimed a 100 percent success rate in interceptions, although this statement might refer to a single battery. The average success rate across all supplied systems is likely lower. It's worth noting that the IRIS-T systems were delivered in two variants. The SLS uses short-range air-to-air missiles IRIS-T, which have a range exceeding 6 miles, while the SLM variant can engage targets up to 25 miles away.
IRIS-T missiles - modern European weaponry
The IRIS-T missile was developed through collaboration between Germany, Greece, Norway, Sweden, Italy, and—for a time—Canada, as a European successor to the American AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles for several European NATO members' air forces. Interestingly, it partially bases its design on the Soviet Vympel R-73 missile by borrowing thrust vectoring technology.
This collaborative effort entered service with the Luftwaffe in 2005, having a range of about 15 miles at high altitudes where the air is thinner, or over 6 miles when launched from the ground. The missile features an advanced infrared electro-optical seeker with an FPA matrix detecting the thermal image of the target, making it resistant to defensive measures like flares.
Furthermore, the IRIS-T contains advanced algorithms allowing it to simulate an attack, causing the targeted aircraft to lose energy before the strike. At the MPSO trade show, the manufacturer revealed that the IRIS-T can withstand overloads exceeding 60 Gs and can intercept other medium-range air-to-air missiles, such as the Vympel R-77 or AIM-120 AMRAAM.
This concept also applies to the larger IRIS-T SL variant, which entered service in 2017. Its distinctive features include a larger rocket motor and the addition of a data link to support the seeker head, allowing communication with the launcher after firing, along with GPS and INS navigation.
This capability is necessary because the electro-optical seeker can only lock onto a target from a short distance. This version's maximum interception range is 25 miles, with an altitude ceiling of 12 miles. It is currently one of the most advanced short-range anti-aircraft systems globally, utilized by Germany, Ukraine, Sweden, and Egypt.
