The German military on Wednesday began operating its Iris-T air defense system for the first time in the country, having delivered several advanced systems to war-torn Ukraine to shoot down Russian rockets, drones and missiles in flight.
AFP Reports Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the surface-to-air system was part of a long-term strengthening of German and European defence that was launched in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“Russia has been carrying out extensive rearmament for many years, particularly in the area of rockets and cruise missiles,” Scholz said at the inauguration of the base in Todendorf, near Hamburg in northern Russia.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (L) and Chancellor Olaf Scholz react during the presentation and activation of Germany's first IRIS-T SLM medium-range air defense system at the military base camp in Todendorf, northern Germany, on September 4, 2024. The German system has already been supplied to Ukraine to intercept Russian rockets, drones and missiles. (Daniel Bockwald/AFP via Getty Images)
He added that Putin had violated arms control treaties and “deployed missiles” from Berlin to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, about 330 miles away.
“It would be negligent not to respond appropriately to this,” the prime minister warned. “Failure to act puts peace at risk and I will not allow that.”
Scholz, who was also joined by Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, said the system was part of a European Skyshield initiative which would also include long-range defences against ballistic missiles, AFP reported.
The German military has ordered six Iris-T SLM systems from manufacturer Diehl Defense, with delivery scheduled for May 2027.
Apart from defence systems, Scholz warned that Europe also needed its own precision missiles “so as not to lag dangerously behind Russia in this strategically important area”.
