Concept art of the future IRIS-T Block II short range, air-to-air missile (Diehl Defence)
BELFAST — German weapons manufacturer Diehl Defence announced today that it has been contracted to lead development and production of IRIS-T (InfraRed Imaging System – Tail/Thrust Vector Controlled) Block II air-to-air missiles on behalf of program partner nations Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden.
The company said in a statement that the Block II contract was originally signed by Germany’s federal office for armed forces equipment, information technology and in-service support (BAAINBw) at the “end of December” 2024 and was “realized in the shortest possible time.”
It added, “The IRIS-T Block II contract marks an important milestone for the future of IRIS-T,” but did not disclose a contract value, quantities of Block II weapons on order or delivery dates. Neither Diehl nor the BAAINBw responded to requests for comment by press time.
The Diehl statement did not explain the defining features of the Block II upgrade, sharing only that the missile will be “improved continuously and will continue to set benchmarks with new capabilities in its original air-to-air role.”
As noted by the manufacturer, IRIS-T is a European short range, air-to-air missile, with the in-production Block I developed in collaboration at an industrial level by Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden.
“The seeker assisted radar proximity fuze and the large warhead give the missile a remarkable anti-missile capability,” states achieved Diehl company literature.
Capable of striking enemy fighter jets and intercepting air-to-air or surface-to-air missiles, the weapon was designed as a successor to the US Air Intercept Missile (AIM)-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile and has been in production since 2005. To date, over 5,000 units have been delivered. The weapon is integrated on a range of fighters jets including the Swedish Gripen, Eurofighter Typhoon, US platforms like the F-5E, F-16, EF-18, and South Korea’s KF-21.
More broadly, the IRIS-T family also features the IRIS-T SL (surface-launched) missile equipped for Ground Based Air Defense (GBAD) systems. It is a core part of Ukraine’s air defense. A total of 11 IRIS-T platforms, split between SLS (short) and SLM (medium) types, have so far been delivered by Germany, according to a military aid factsheet.
As Breaking Defense previously reported, Germany plans on taking deliveries later this year under a six IRIS T-SLM fire unit acquisition.
Diehl also unveiled the newest addition to the IRIS-T collection at the Berlin Airshow last year. The in-development system will be capable of “covering ranges of up to 80 km,” it said at the time.
