Großwald Systems: IRIS-T SLM
The IRIS-T SLM (Infra-Red Imaging System – Tail/Thrust Vector-Controlled, Surface-Launched Medium Range) is a medium-range surface-to-air missile system developed by the German company Diehl Defence.
IAMDDINGER Großwald Systems
Updated 21 October 2026
Key points
- System: Diehl Defence medium-range surface-to-air missile system, 40 km range and 20 km altitude, derived from the IRIS-T air-to-air missile. A fire unit combines a HENSOLDT TRML-4D radar, an Airbus Fortion IBMS command post and launchers of eight missiles each.
- Combat record: more than 250 missiles, drones and cruise missiles shot down in Ukraine with a 95% hit rate, according to Olaf Scholz, then Chancellor, on 4 September 2024. Performance against ballistic missiles is disputed.
- Customers: eight European Sky Shield Initiative states have signed contracts for at least 26 fire units. Ukraine had received 11 by October 2026, according to the German Aid to Ukraine tracking project; Egypt also operates the system.
- Price: Bulgaria’s contract for one fire unit with missiles and support stands at €180.6 m (revised October 2026).
- Pending orders: Bulgaria’s parliament approved five more fire units (€1.106 bn, SAFE loans) on 15 October 2026; the Swiss parliament funded two more (CHF 1 bn) in September 2026. Neither is contracted yet.
- SLX: 80 km interceptor in development for the same launcher; Diehl plans development firings in 2027 and series production from 2029.
Stand: 21 Oct 2026
The IRIS-T SLM (Infra-Red Imaging System · Tail/Thrust Vector-Controlled · Surface-Launched Medium Range) is a ground-based air-defence missile system developed by Diehl Defence. It is the medium-range layer of the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI). Ukraine has operated it in combat since October 2022. The Bundeswehr took delivery of its initial fire unit in August 2024 and in October 2026 certified the system and conducted a live firing at NAMFI, Crete.
How a fire unit engages
The TRML-4D radar searches 360 degrees and tracks targets. The Fortion IBMS command post assigns targets to launchers. The missile leaves its canister vertically and flies the mid-course on GPS-aided inertial navigation, with target updates over a radio datalink. In the final phase its imaging infrared seeker takes over, and thrust-vector and tail control steer it onto the target. A standard German fire unit has three launchers with 24 ready missiles.
IRIS-T family architecture
The air-to-air IRIS-T is the baseline for four ground-based variants and a naval adaptation.
| Variant | Tier | Envelope | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| IRIS-T (air-to-air) | Short-range AAM | — | In service. Block II upgrade in development since a December 2024 contract: Germany leads, with Sweden, Spain and Italy |
| IRIS-T SLS | Short-range GBAD | 12 km range, 6 km altitude (MK4, Diehl) | In service in Sweden since 2019–2020 and in Ukraine; ordered by Norway. Diehl announced a further Swedish order in December 2025. Single-vehicle SLS MK4, firing on the move, shown June 2026 for 2028 |
| IRIS-T SLM | Medium-range GBAD | 40 km range, 20 km altitude | In service in Ukraine, Egypt, Germany and Estonia; on order in six further ESSI states |
| IRIS-T SLX | Long-range GBAD | 80 km range (Diehl) | In development. Nammo is building a two-pulse rocket motor; development firings planned for 2027, series production from 2029 |
| SLM/X common launcher | Launcher | Mixed SLM and SLX load | Shown at Enforce Tac on 24 February 2026; eight canisters |
| IRIS-T SLM (naval) | Ship air defence | SLM envelope | Contracted 2 October 2026 for the F125 frigates: adaptation development, prototypes and test firings, value not disclosed. Prototype launcher and test firing planned for 2027 |
Customer queue and contract values
Status is the furthest stage each order has reached.
| Operator | Fire units | Contract and value | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ukraine | 11 delivered | Deliveries from 2022 funded by Germany; Ukraine–Diehl contract of €2.2 bn, 28 May 2025; €182 m German funding for further SLM and SLS launchers | Delivered; a twelfth expected by end-2026 (German Aid to Ukraine tracking project) |
| Egypt | Not disclosed | German export approval for 16 IRIS-T SL systems reported December 2021; SLM/SLS split and value not disclosed | Delivered; shown publicly as “Saqr” on 8 October 2024. Diehl does not name Egypt as a customer |
| Germany | 6 | 22 June 2023, up to €950 m with missiles | Delivered from August 2024; remaining five reported due in 2026 |
| Estonia | 3 | 11 September 2023, about €400 m | Delivered: one, at Ämari, 22 June 2026; two due in 2027 |
| Latvia | Not disclosed | 30 November 2023, about €600 m | Contracted; deliveries planned from 2026, none confirmed |
| Slovenia | 3 | 1 on 25 January 2024; 2 more in July 2025; values not disclosed by Diehl | Contracted; delivery schedule not published |
| Bulgaria | 1 + 5 | 1 on 7 October 2024, €182.1 m, revised to €180.6 m; 5 more approved 15 October 2026, €1.106 bn for both stages under SAFE | Contracted (1); funded (5), pending a programme agreement with Germany, a Diehl contract addendum and ratification |
| Sweden | 7 | 25 June 2025, SEK 9 bn (about €810 m), 49 vehicles; two launchers per fire unit | Contracted; deliveries mid-2028 to mid-2030 |
| Switzerland | 5 + 2 | 5 on 22 July 2025, about CHF 500 m; 2 more approved by parliament September 2026, CHF 1 bn (Armeebotschaft 2026) | Contracted (5), deliveries end-2028 to 2031; funded (2), delivery from 2030 |
| Denmark | 1 + not disclosed | 1 on 29 July 2025 (interim solution); further fire units on 4 December 2025 (permanent solution), value not disclosed | Contracted |
The disclosed ESSI contracts add up to 26 fire units, before Latvia’s and Denmark’s undisclosed quantities; Bulgaria’s five and Switzerland’s two are funded on top.
Germany. Initial operational readiness was reported in September 2024; Air Defence Missile Group 61 took a unit-level handover on 13 February 2026. Further missile call-offs were approved in November and December 2025 and contracted in February 2026, value not disclosed. Two fire units pass to the Army from 2028. A plan for 50 fire units, reported in November 2025 from unnamed military sources, is not an official figure.
Ukraine. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on 8 September 2026 that Ukraine would order several thousand more missiles funded from the EU loan, and Diehl signed three memoranda with the Ukrainian defence ministry on 4 October 2026 covering missiles, launchers and artillery ammunition. Neither carries a published value.
Elsewhere. Norway, Slovakia and Lithuania take part in ESSI without IRIS-T SLM orders. Austria has IRIS-T SLM among the candidates for its medium-range air-defence procurement, with a decision expected at the end of 2026 or in early 2027. Diehl and Brazil’s AEL Sistemas signed a memorandum on IRIS-T ground-based air defence on 3 July 2026; no order has followed.
Operational record — Ukraine
Ukraine took delivery of its initial fire unit in October 2022, reportedly from production allocated to Egypt. On 4 September 2024 Olaf Scholz, then Chancellor, said IRIS-T had shot down more than 250 missiles, drones and cruise missiles in Ukraine with a 95% hit rate. Diehl CEO Helmut Rauch put the hit rate “really close to 100%” in November 2025. These are the donor’s and the manufacturer’s figures: neither has been independently verified, and neither says how many engagements the rate is measured over. No later cumulative figure has been published.
Engagements reported by Ukrainian units:
- Shahed and Geran-type one-way attack drones
- Seven cruise missiles in a single strike, by a battery of Air Command West (June 2025)
- Five Kh-101 cruise missiles, two Iskander-K cruise missiles and two Shaheds, by a newly delivered fire unit of the 223rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (December 2025)
Against ballistic missiles the record is disputed. Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, said in July 2025 that IRIS-T had in some cases downed ballistic missiles; Diehl declined to comment. Reuters reported on 27 July 2026 that IRIS-T had not yet proven capable of doing so.
System specification
Diehl has not published length, weight or speed for the ground-launched missile; the figures below are from Diehl, its system partners or a ministry.
| IRIS-T SLM | IRIS-T SLX | |
|---|---|---|
| Range / altitude | 40 km / 20 km | 80 km / not published |
| Mid-course guidance | GPS-aided inertial navigation, radio datalink | Not published |
| Terminal seeker | Imaging infrared | Combined radar and infrared (HENSOLDT, 2022) |
| Launcher | Eight missiles per launcher, vertical launch; three launchers per German fire unit, two per Swedish | SLM/X common launcher, eight canisters, mixed loads |
| Radar | HENSOLDT TRML-4D, C-band (NATO G-band) AESA, 360° coverage | |
| Command post | Airbus Fortion IBMS | |
| Carrier vehicles | Rheinmetall MAN military trucks | |
SAMP/T NG — peer comparison
The European peer one tier up is SAMP/T NG from Eurosam (MBDA and Thales). Denmark is contracted for both systems, and Ukraine operates both.
| IRIS-T SLM | SAMP/T NG | |
|---|---|---|
| Range / altitude | 40 km / 20 km; 80 km with SLX (in development) | About 150 km (Aster 30 B1NT, reported); altitude not published by MBDA |
| Interceptor | IRIS-T SL (Diehl) | Aster 30 B1NT (MBDA) |
| Radar | HENSOLDT TRML-4D | Thales Ground Fire 300 |
| European contracts | Eight ESSI states, 2023–2025 | France and Italy (developers); Denmark, selected 12 September 2025, contracted 21 April 2026 |
| Published unit price | Bulgaria: €180.6 m for one fire unit with missiles and support (October 2026) | Not disclosed per battery |
| Production | Diehl, Überlingen and Nonnweiler | Eurosam partners in France and Italy |
Production
Diehl develops the missile and builds guidance, seeker and electronics at Überlingen on Lake Constance; final missile integration, with explosives handling, is at Nonnweiler in Saarland. A missile integration centre of about 3,400 m² opened at Nonnweiler on 23 January 2026, with more than 20 further construction projects planned at the site. Diehl puts its company-wide expansion investment at about €1.5 bn.
Diehl does not publish actual annual output. What it has stated are plans and goals:
| Diehl statement | Figure | Type |
|---|---|---|
| September 2023 (to Reuters) | 400–500 missiles planned for 2024; 2023 output tripled | Plan |
| Mid-2024 | 800–1,000 missiles a year by end-2025 | Plan |
| November 2025 (Rauch) | SLM missile capacity up by a factor of ten | Reported capacity |
| January 2026 (Rauch) | 2,000 missiles a year, no date given | Capacity goal |
| January 2026 | 10 air-defence systems in 2026; 16 systems a year “in two years” | Target |
Each fire unit also needs a TRML-4D radar. HENSOLDT, which makes it, is building a plant at Ulm for about 1,000 radars a year across all types from 2027, and does not publish TRML-4D output.
Outlook
- Delivery rate. Diehl’s target is ten systems in 2026. Germany’s remaining five fire units and Ukraine’s twelfth are reported due by year-end, Estonia’s two in 2027.
- Funded orders becoming contracts. Bulgaria still needs a programme agreement with Germany, a Diehl contract addendum and ratification. The Swiss parliament votes on CHF 650 m in advance payments for medium-range air defence in the winter session. Ukraine’s October 2026 memoranda carry no price yet.
- SLX maturity. Diehl plans development firings in 2027 and series production from 2029; a series contract would be the next step.
- New users. Austria’s medium-range air-defence decision is due at the end of 2026 or in early 2027. The F125 prototype firing is planned for 2027.
Sources: Diehl Defence, HENSOLDT, Airbus, Nammo, BAAINBw, German Federal Ministry of Defence, Bundeswehr, Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, Estonian Defence Forces, Latvian Ministry of Defence, Bulgarian National Assembly, Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport, Danish Ministry of Defence, Swedish Defence Materiel Administration, German Aid to Ukraine, Reuters, Ukrinform, Anadolu.
Großwald Systems · updated 21 October 2026 · corrections: editorial@grosswald.org
