The Ukraine will receive the state-of-the-art IRIS-T SLM air defense system from Germany, which is not yet in use by the Bundeswehr itself. CSU boss Söder is now calling for the purchase of such military technology in order to raise a “protective shield over Germany”.
After the delivery of a German air defense system of the type IRIS-T SLM to the Ukraine, CSU boss Markus Söder calls for the purchase of such military technology to also protect German cities. “We have to install missile and anti-aircraft protection systems for German cities,” Söder told the “Bild” newspaper. “That would give us a complete protective shield over Germany. It’s not enough to just protect our partners, we have to do the same for our own country.”
A few days ago, Germany delivered the first state-of-the-art IRIS-T SLM air defense system to Ukraine. Three more of these systems are to follow in the coming year. The IRIS-T SLM can be used to defend against incoming missiles at an altitude of up to 20 kilometers and at a distance of up to 40 kilometers. According to SPD Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the system can protect “an entire city from Russian air raids.”
Under the impression of massive Russian air raids on residential areas and infrastructure in Ukraine, Germany and 14 other countries launched a project to improve European air defense on Thursday: the so-called European Sky Shield Initiative. This is intended to close gaps in the current NATO protective shield for Europe using new weapon systems. There are deficits, for example, in the area of ??ballistic missiles, which reach great heights on their trajectory, but also in the defense against drones and cruise missiles.
Germany currently has the Stinger anti-aircraft missile for close range and combating aircraft and helicopters. The larger Patriot system, of which Germany still has twelve firing systems, works at medium range – but this is far from enough to protect the entire country. When it comes to defending against ballistic missiles that reach great heights on their trajectory, the Bundeswehr is even said to have a “capability gap”.
