A new era of air defense has begun in Ukraine – the IRIS-T system from Germany has arrived in Ukraine. This will help Ukraine better protect our skies.
Ukraine has been given an ultra-modern new version of the IRIS-T, which is not yet in service even in the German army. Ukraine will be the first country to test the IRIS-T in combat and receive a medium-range modification into service. This is reported by Channel 24.
How IRIS-T will change the situation
Since we are the first country to test these air defense systems in a war, their effectiveness can only be predicted theoretically. Alexander Musienko, head of the Center for Military Legal Research, believes that the new German air defense systems will change the situation on the battlefield. Indeed, in any case, the strengthening of our ability to protect against air attacks is welcome.
Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said that a new era of air defense has begun in Ukraine. Andriy Yermak believes that the use of German IRIS-T together with American NASAMS will help Ukraine create its own shield.
Help. Ukraine should receive 4 IRIS-T systems. 2 systems will be provided in 2022, 2 more will arrive at the beginning of 2023.
What is known about IRIS-T air defense systems
These are air defense systems equipped with a cooling infrared homing head. They are designed to destroy aircraft, helicopters, UAVs, cruise and ballistic missiles. The range of the missile reaches 40 kilometers, but the homing head captures targets from only 20 kilometers. The height of the target hit is also 20 kilometers.
The development of IRIS-T was completed only in 2014, so little is known about them. But the peculiarity of these air defense systems is that they are actually a designer – the customer can make up exactly what he needs from the components of this system. IRIS-T is also compatible with other NATO air defense systems. This is especially true, since NASAMS from the United States will arrive in Ukraine.
How the IRIS-T air defense works:
- The infrared head of the rocket aims it at the target .
- The missile does not give away its presence, and the so-called memory system is able to distinguish heat traps from genuine targets.
IRIS-T works with different radars. In particular, this air defense system can be equipped with the German TRML-4D system, which is capable of detecting targets at a distance of up to 250 kilometers. It is still unknown which radar will be in the IRIS-T configuration for Ukraine, but all the radars with which the complex works have a viewing angle of 360 degrees.
