Diehl Defence Hands Over First Unit of IRIS-T Air Defense System to Estonia

 Diehl Defence handed over the first fire unit of the medium-range ground-based air defence system IRIS-T SLM to the Estonian Air Force at Ämari Air Base.

The Baltic nation is yet another NATO member state that can actively protect its territory with the combat-proven IRIS-T SLM system.

For Estonia, this is the largest defence investment in the country's history to date. For Diehl Defence, today's handover exemplifies the growth strategy the company has consistently pursued in recent years.

"IRIS-T is a medium-range air defence system that has proven itself in Ukraine, and it brings our air defence to a new level, giving us the ability to engage an adversary's actions from significantly greater distances and altitudes than our existing short-range systems. The war in Ukraine has clearly shown that a strong air defence is a central part of national defence, essential for protecting our people, our defence forces' units, and critical infrastructure", said Estonian Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur.

Capacity has been significantly expanded at all Diehl Defence production sites in order to reliably meet the increased demand from European NATO member states.

 European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI)

The handover also underlines the importance of the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) as a procurement framework. ESSI is a project initiated by Germany in 2022 to establish an integrated European ground-based air defence system and now comprises 23 member states.

Eight of these countries have procured IRIS-T SLM: Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland. The standardized ESSI contractual framework enables faster procurement processes and creates long-term synergies in training, maintenance and logistics.

The IRIS-T SLM system protects armed forces, civilian population and critical infrastructure against threats posed by aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles and drones at ranges of up to 40 km and altitudes of up to 20 km.