The Armed Forces of Ukraine recently received another fire unit of the IRIS-T SLM air defence system funded by the German government, which has already been put into active service, defending the Ukrainian skies against aerial threats like Russian cruise missiles and drones.
GAU learnt this from a well-informed source familiar with the deliveries. The information in question was independently verified and published after a safety period of several weeks had elapsed.
This is the second fire unit delivered to the Ukrainian Air Force this year, and the eleventh fire unit overall since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
Another fire unit is due to be delivered to the Ukrainian Air Force before the end of the year, which, according to GAU information, will fulfil the deliveries promised for this year. Last year, the German Ministry of Defence increased its annual commitment by one further fire unit to a total of four, but in the end, as it will be the case this year, it delivered only three.
IRIS-T SLM in Ukraine
The modern IRIS-T SLM air defence system, which Germany has been supplying regularly to Ukraine since 2022 as part of its military assistance, is highly valued in Ukraine and has proven its worth over many years in combat, particularly against Russian cruise missiles but also against drones, with an average interception rate of around 95%. Various official sources have also reported very isolated instances of ballistic missiles being intercepted.
A complete Ukrainian fire unit, according to current standards, consists of three IRIS-T SLM launchers, two IRIS-T SLS launchers, a TRML-4D air surveillance and target acquisition radar, the Tactical Operations Centre (TOC) and several support vehicles.
In the future, two additional launchers (SLM/SLS mix) will be integrated into every fire unit that has already been delivered, as well as into all those to be delivered in the future. The German government is funding the required work with €182 million.
Depending on the distribution of the launchers and the availability of ammunition, IRIS-T SLM is capable not only of defending individual critical infrastructure sites, but potentially an entire city against attacks of drones and cruise missiles. Among other places, the system is being deployed as part of a sophisticated and multiple-layered air defence ring, comprising various systems at multiple levels, to protect the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
Delivery exactly when it’s needed
The delivery of this IRIS-T SLM fire unit has now taken place at an extremely critical time for Ukraine.
Firstly, the start of winter is approaching, and this year too it is expected that Russia will increasingly target civilian energy infrastructure and similar targets in order to make life as miserable as possible for Ukrainian civilians in the freezing temperatures.
Secondly, the increased use of newer Russian jet-powered Geran drones is posing increasingly greater problems for Ukraine’s air defences.
With a top speed of up to 600 kilometres per hour, generally improved manoeuvrability at higher speeds, upgraded electronics and sensors, and the ability to fly at altitudes of up to 6,000 metres, the Russian military is increasingly rendering simple and low-cost but previously very effective measures – such as interceptor drones – ineffective.
According to a report in the Financial Times, this is currently reducing the overall interception rate from 90% to 95% to just around 60%. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently made a similar claim via X (formerly known as Twitter) and stated current interception rate is down to 55%. As a result, the Ukrainian military may be forced in the future to make greater use of SAM-based air defence systems to counter these Russian drones.
At least until Ukraine has adapted once again and can draw on other options, or until existing capabilities such as interceptor drones are further developed and produced in the necessary quantities.
Just days ago, GAU exclusively published footage of the new SPYS interceptor drone, which has been designed via the German-Ukrainian Joint Venture Quantum WIY Industries, successfully intercepting the latest Russian Geran-5 drone.
In particular, thanks to the integration of IRIS-T SLS launchers into the IRIS-T SLM fire units, the Ukrainian army could, if necessary, also rely on the cheaper and more available IRIS-T SLS missile to defend against Geran-4 and Geran-5 drones, whilst reserving the more expensive and more powerful IRIS-T SLM missiles for intercepting cruise missiles.
The supply of new ammunition to the Ukrainian Air Force for the German-funded air defence system is also set to improve even further in the future.
Germany’s Minister of Defence, Boris Pistorius, recently announced at a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) that Ukraine intends to order several thousand missiles that will be financed through the EU’s Ukraine Support Loan. According to Pistorius, this would even enable a new production line to be set up, which would ultimately benefit all end-users.
Note
In order to not risk compromising the fire unit’s deployment and to prevent any conclusions being drawn about for example the location, GAU did not announce the delivery until a safety period of several weeks had elapsed and decided not to disclose any further details regarding the operator, missile supply and other topics.
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