German Air Force Achieves Initial Operating Capability for IRIS-T SLM Air Defense System

The German Air Force has achieved Initial Operating Capability (IOC) for the IRIS-T SLM ground-based air defense system, following the completion of training for its first operators.

This milestone was marked by an official ceremony at the Todendorf military training area in Schleswig-Holstein, attended by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, German Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius, and Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, Chief of the German Air Force. Diehl Defence CEO Helmut Rauch and a representative from the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) were also present.

The IOC declaration comes one year after the German Bundestag's Budget Committee approved the procurement of six IRIS-T SLM fire units, financed through a special fund for the Bundeswehr. Diehl Defence delivered the first of these units to the Bundeswehr in early August 2024. The IRIS-T SLM system is designed to protect critical infrastructure, personnel, and other assets by engaging aerial threats such as aircraft, missiles, and drones.

Since the summer of 2023, Diehl Defence and the German Air Force have jointly operated a training facility for the IRIS-T SLM system at Todendorf, where personnel from other nations involved in the ‘European Sky Shield Initiative’ (ESSI) can also receive training. Air Chiefs from several ESSI member countries attended the IOC ceremony.

During the event, Helmut Rauch symbolically handed over a key for the IRIS-T SLM system to Harald Albrecht, deputy to Annette Lehnigk-Emden, President of the BAAINBw. Rauch expressed pride in Diehl Defence’s role in delivering the system on schedule, enabling the German Air Force to declare its IOC for the IRIS-T SLM system.