Germany puts first Iris-T air-defense system into service

Germany has put the first Iris-T air-defense system into service on its own soil amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the surface-to-air system was part of a build-up of German and European defences launched after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the Ukraine invasion in 2022, News.Az reports citing foreign media.

"Russia has been massively rearming for many years, especially in the field of rockets and cruise missiles," Scholz said at the inauguration ceremony at a base in Todendorf near the northern city of Hamburg.

Putin had broken disarmament treaties and "deployed missiles as far as Kaliningrad", a Russian exclave located some 530 kilometres (330 miles) from Berlin, he added.

"It would be negligent not to respond to this appropriately," the chancellor said. "A failure to act would put peace at risk. I will not allow that."

Scholz, who was joined by Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, said the system was part of the European Sky Shield Initiative, which also includes long-range defences against ballistic missiles.

The German military has ordered six of the Iris-T SLM systems at a total cost of 950 million euros ($1 million) from manufacturer Diehl Defence, to be delivered by May 2027.

News.Az