#

​Germany Will Provide an IRIS-T System Intended for Another Country to Ukraine Instead

3426
IRIS-T SLM air defense missile system / Illustrative photo credit: Diehl Defense
IRIS-T SLM air defense missile system / Illustrative photo credit: Diehl Defense

This way, the first of the air defense missile systems could arrive as soon as in August

The possible term for the arrival of the German air defense missiles was reassured by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany Annalena Baerbock in an interview to Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.

According to the official, the first unit of IRIS-T is expected to come by the end of August or in September. For that, Germany will hand a system intended for another country over to Ukraine instead. The move was already agreed with the initial contractor:

Read more: Germany Announced When the IRIS-T Medium-Range Air Defense System Is Ready for Ukraine

"...And we also are delivering the IRIS-T air defense system. Well, I hope that by the end of summer, or in early September… And it is in the final stage of production, it was to go to another country. So we had to agree with this country, that they would give in, and the system would go to Ukraine, and I really hope that we would be able to do the same with more of these systems," Annalena Baerbock said.

Annalena Baerbock, the Foreign Affairs Minister of Germany / Photo credit: RFE/RL

She did not specify though, which country "gave in" but we can cautiously asess that it was Egypt, since Defense Express covered earlier the 2019 deal between Germany and Egypt on delivery of 16 IRIS-T SLM (surface-launched medium-range) systems which in fact made Egypt the first official operator of this system.

Test launch of an IRIS-T surface-launched system. The full test cycle was announced completed in 2022 / Open source photo

When asked about the critics regarding the pace of German military supplies to Ukraine, Annalena Baerbock admitted that those were "too slow, at first", but know the situation is different:

"We have changed the position, as you mentioned, we deliver heavy weaponry, especially artillery, cutting-edge technologies, because this is what the Ukrainians are asking for right now. The problems are that there is no air delivery, that the distances are big and the defense capabilities are limited."

"We thought and believed that we would live in peace in Europe," she noted. "And so in the past, we spent less on our defense, there is a lot can be said but it's the fact and reality. That's why for us it's more difficult to supply from our reserves because there is 50-years-old equipment there, we thought, for instance, that we would never be using tanks again."

IRIS-T SL
IRIS-T SL specifications / Source: Diehl Defense brochure, taken from open sources

The German IRIS-T SL is a system for launching IRIS-T anti-aircraft missiles with combined guidance, an 87-kg warhead, and a Mach 3 flight speed. It can destroy all types of air targets at a distance of up to 40 km and an altitude of 20 km. Theoretically, this system can strengthen the protection of Ukrainian cities against russian ballistic and cruise missiles.

Read more: ​Germany Finally Supplied the "Non-Existent" MARS II Missile Systems to Ukraine