Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly appealed to Kyiv's Western allies for additional air defence systems.
According to publicly available information, Ukraine has so far been promised or supplied with around eight Patriot air defence systems. Germany has provided three of these from Bundeswehr stocks and has pledged two more.
Alongside the US-made Patriot system, the German government has also delivered six IRIS-T SLM medium-range air defence systems and six IRIS-T SLS short-range systems to Ukraine. Both are manufactured by German defence company Diehl Defence, which is based in Überlingen on Lake Constance. Unlike the Patriot system, the IRIS-T SLM features a rotating radar, Staff Sergeant Thomas explained to Euronews at this year's International Aerospace Exhibition (ILA).
Thomas, who has worked in maintenance for the system and has served in the Bundeswehr since 2020, said the IRIS-T SLM's 360-degree radar allows it to detect targets approaching from any direction.
"Because the launch canisters are positioned vertically, we can also provide air defence coverage in every direction. It doesn't matter whether a target approaches from the front, the rear, the left or the right," Thomas said.
