IRIS-T SLS Successfully Qualified by Swedish Army

Modernising existing ground-based air defence (GBAD) assets is a European, if not a global trend. Exactly following this path, the Swedish Army qualified its new GBAD system (called Eld E98), consisting of IRIS-T SLS (Surface Launched Short Range) missile launchers and interceptors produced and supplied by Diehl Defence. The manufacturer noted that successful firings were carried out on the Vidsel Test Range in the north of Sweden, the country’s strategic national test and evaluation asset operated by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), a part of the Swedish Ministry of Defence. According to Diehl Defence, interceptors were launched in Lock-on Before Launch (LOBL) and Lock-on After Launch (LOAL) modes against small drone targets. All missile rounds intercepted their intended targets.

Sweden’s EldeE 98 GBAD is described as a real 360-degree fire-on-the-move capability for ground forces. For protecting Swedish ground forces, Diehl Defence successfully promoted its system solution for the Short-Range Air Defence (SHORAD) domain consisting of the IRIS-T SLS guided missile system packed onto Hågglunds Bv410 all-terrain vehicles. The manufacturer was successful in offering this configuration for an immediate Swedish Army requirement, representing a real ‘gap filler’ that is about to bring in new capability to protect moving ground forces. Designed as a new-generation SHORAD missile, IRIS-T SLS offers a combat range of greater than 25km, able to defend against a wide spectrum of sophisticated airborne threats. Both Diehl Defence and the Swedish customer describe this solution as a “real fire-on-the-move asset, enabling ground troops a ready-to-use capability to defeat a broad range of attacking weapons, including air-to-ground missiles, cruise missiles, anti-radar missiles and rockets.”

Other manoeuvring threats on the target list include low-flying drones and helicopters. According to the manufacturer, IRIS-T SLS offers a high probability of kill against any of these threats to a maximum altitude of 6,000 metres. The carrier platform also carries the GIRAFFE 1X radar from Saab, a multifunctional 3D radar based on advanced gallium nitride (GaN) technology. One key advantage of the radar is that it can be easily integrated in almost any type of mobile platform, fixed structure or C2 system.

Stefan Nitschke