The German military put its first IRIS-T SLM air defence system into service on Wednesday, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz in attendance.
Speaking in Todendorf in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, Scholz said the new system was “about maintaining security and peace in Europe.”
Scholz said Russia under President Vladimir Putin has been rearming for years, including in its Baltic Sea enclave of Kaliningrad.
“He has moved missiles to Kaliningrad – 530 kilometres as the crow flies from Berlin. It would be negligent not to react appropriately,” the chancellor stated.
The new IRIS-T SLM system was developed by German manufacturer Diehl Defence.
The German government has already delivered four of the new systems and three related IRIS-T SLS systems to Ukraine, where they have been used at least 250 times to repel Russian cruise missiles and drones, Scholz said.
Six systems are now to be used by Germany’s military, the Bundeswehr.
“This is an important step for the security of our country as air defence has long been neglected,” said Scholz.
The new weapons system is also to become a central component of the European Sky Shield Initiative, a joint air defence system initiated by Germany.
A training centre is also currently being built in Todendorf, where Ukrainian soldiers are being trained.
