Two years after it received its first IRIS-T SLM fire unit, the German Air Force has finally fired the system for real. In mid-October 2026, soldiers of Air Defence Missile Group 61 from Todendorf launched a live IRIS-T SLM missile at the NATO Missile Firing Installation (NAMFI) on Crete, completing the system's operational certification. Diehl Defence announced the result on 14 October.

It is the same missile system Ukraine has used against Russian cruise missiles and drones since 2022, and that more and more European countries are ordering. Germany's own air defence has now passed the same test.

The Certification Shot

The shot was a system certification, so it tested the whole fire unit and not just the missile: the Hensoldt TRML-4D radar, the Common Tactical Operations Center (CTOC) and the launcher had to find, track and engage a target together. Germany has no range big enough for live medium-range shots, which is why its crews fire on Crete.

After the certification, the battalion moved into a wider tactical exercise, Spartan Arrow according to Augen geradeaus!, linking IRIS-T SLM with German and Swedish Patriot batteries and the Stinger-armed LeFlaSys short-range system. Airbus said it was the first time an all-German crew had used a German SAMOC operations centre to coordinate IRIS-T SLM in a live firing. Sweden, which chose IRIS-T SLM in 2025, fired its first independent Patriot shot inside the same network.

Why It Took Two Years

The procurement office BAAINBw handed over Germany's first fire unit in August 2024, and initial operating capability followed in September that year. In the meantime the Luftwaffe trained crews, tested integration with Patriot and built up the command structure, but a live shot under certification conditions needs a slot on a NATO range and a complete, validated system. Germany ordered six fire units in its first batch from the special defence fund, and further orders are expected.

The Army Takes a Share

The firing also marks a handover. During the exercise, Luftwaffe chief Lt. Gen. Holger Neumann handed the LeFlaSys system to the Army's Lt. Gen. Christian Freuding, with the full transfer due by spring 2027. The Army plans to operate IRIS-T SLM alongside the Luftwaffe, with two fire units coming over from 2028 as an initial capability. On 7 October, Freuding said the Army would introduce IRIS-T SLM together with the Luftwaffe faster than previously planned.

Diehl Defence's overview of the IRIS-T SLM medium-range ground-based air defence system.

Sources: Diehl Defence; Augen geradeaus!; ESUT; Defence Blog; Airbus Defence and Space