German military set to fire IRIS-T SLM air defense system live for first time on Crete
During the Spartan Arrow 2026 drill with Sweden, Germany's air force plans its first live shot with the system already used in Ukraine. The revived army air defense joins with Ozelot.
Archive image · Photo: Air Command West of the UAF / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Germany's armed forces plan to conduct the first live firing of the IRIS-T SLM air defense system on the Greek island of Crete. Developed by Diehl Defence and already in use in Ukraine, the system expands the ability to engage aerial targets at medium range, an air force spokesperson said. The main part of the exercise began Wednesday morning, and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is expected to attend.
The Spartan Arrow 2026 exercise is being held with Swedish forces and also involves the Patriot system. The Ozelot system, being handed back from the air force to the army, is also taking part. It is designed to protect ground troops from low-flying aircraft, drones and cruise missiles and is part of rebuilding the army's air defense branch, disbanded in 2012. Air force chief Holger Neumann and army chief Christian Freuding arrived a day earlier.
After Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the Defense Ministry launched several procurement programs to rebuild Germany's largely dismantled air defenses, which are organized in layers, with different systems covering different altitudes and ranges.