German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced during his speech at one of the air bases that an order has already been placed for the supply of 17 IRIS-T air defense systems in addition to those that have already been delivered to Ukraine.
"We have planned ahead and secured contracts and financing in a timely manner so that Ukraine can continue to fully rely on us in the future. And that also shows that our industry is highly efficient — when it has the necessary planning security," Bloomberg quotes him.
Read more: Germany Gives Ukraine the IRIS-T SLS Air Defense System, the Bergepanzer 2 Recovery Vehicle, 26 Vector Reconnaissance Drones and More
Four of these systems are to be delivered to Ukraine by the end of this year, and the others next year, Scholz claims. According to him, the IRIS-T air defense systems currently in service with Ukraine's Defense Forces have effectively proven themselves, having shot down over 250 russian missiles and drones.
In the context of this news, it is important to note that this is not an announcement of new IRIS-T air defense system deliveries, but rather the signing of contracts for systems that had already been announced earlier.
According to the official list from the German government, as of today, the delivery of eight IRIS-T SLM (medium-range) and nine IRIS-T SLS (short-range) air defense systems is planned—a total of 17 units.
Additionally, four IRIS-T SLM systems and three IRIS-T SLS systems have already been delivered to Ukraine. Therefore, by early 2026, the Defense Forces should have a total of 12 IRIS-T SLS and 12 IRIS-T SLM systems in service—24 systems in all.
Earlier, Defense Express reported that Ukrainian forces managed to shoot down two aerial targets with a single missile from the German IRIS-T air defense system—the missile launched from the system hit a russian missile, and its fragments destroyed another enemy cruise missile.
Read more: Germany Reveals the List of Military Aid for Ukraine: IRIS-T, PzH 2000 Included
