Switzerland to buy 4 or 5 IRIS-T air-defense systems from Diehl

PARIS — Switzerland plans to buy four or five IRIS-T SLM medium-range air-defense systems from Germany’s Diehl Defence, with negotiations in an advanced phase, the country’s defense procurement office, Armasuisse, said on Friday.

The federal office expects to sign the contract for the ground-to-air missile batteries in the third quarter of 2025, with procurement taking place as part of the European Sky Shield Initiative, Armasuisse said in a statement .

Swiss lawmakers last year approved a credit guarantee of 660 million Swiss francs ($809 million) for medium-range air defense in the 2024 armament program. Switzerland joins countries across Europe rushing to bolster their air defenses, as Russia’s daily missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities have raised awareness of the need to protect civilian and military targets against aerial threats.

“The future ground-based air defense will contribute to the impact of maintaining air sovereignty and air defense as well as protecting against attacks with long-range weapons,” Armasuisse said. The system will be part of Switzerland’s integrated air defense, the office said.

Armasuisse tested Hensoldt’s TRML-4D radar for the new medium-range air-defense system between March 31 and April 11, taking a further step in the procurement process, the office said.

The properties of the radar were tested together with Diehl and Hensoldt in the specific Swiss topography, with the radar used to detect aircraft including the PC-12, F/A-18 and helicopters, Armasuisse said.

Switzerland is one of the most mountainous countries in Europe, with mountains covering 70% of the territory and around a quarter of the surface area made up of peaks over 2,000 meters (6,562 feet) above sea level.

The tests also investigated the frequency compatibility with civilian systems such as weather radar.

The country in October joined the European Sky Shield Initiative as the program’s 15th member, with an initial focus on medium-range air defense, while saying it expected opportunities for cooperation on shorter and longer-range defenses in the future.

Other IRIS-T SLM users include Germany and Ukraine, while Latvia ordered the system in November 2023 and Slovenia and Bulgaria placed orders last year. A system typically includes a fire-control unit, a radar unit and multiple missile launchers.

“The renewal will close an existing gap in capability in the defense of stand-off weapons, to combat approaching targets at a medium distance and thus expand long-range ground-based air defense with the Patriot system,” Armasuisse said. “Systems currently in use will soon reach the end of their useful life.”

Separately, Diehl said it signed a partnership agreement with Denmark’s MDSI to expand the payload integration of IRIS-T short-range missiles on fighter aircraft. The missile is included in the standard armament of the Eurofighter and Saab’s Gripen, and can also be used on the F-16, Tornado, EF-18, KF-21 and F-5E, according to Diehl.

“By partnering with MDSI, we’re enabling air forces to leverage the full potential of our missile system across platforms previously deemed as of limited compatibility,” said Martin Walzer, senior manager for integration programs at Diehl.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——瑞士国防采购局（Armasuisse）周五表示，瑞士计划从德国迪尔防务公司购买四到五套IRIS-T SLM中程防空系统，谈判已进入后期阶段。

瑞士联邦国防军总局在一份声明中表示，预计将于 2025 年第三季度签署地对空导弹系统的合同，采购工作将作为欧洲天空之盾计划的一部分进行。

瑞士议员去年批准了一项6.6亿瑞士法郎（约合8.09亿美元）的信贷担保，用于2024年军备计划中的中程防空系统。随着俄罗斯每日对乌克兰城市发动导弹和无人机袭击，人们越来越意识到保护民用和军事目标免受空中威胁的必要性，瑞士也加入了欧洲各国加紧加强防空能力的行列。

瑞士国防军总局表示：“未来的地面防空系统将有助于维护领空主权和防御能力，并抵御远程武器的攻击。”该机构还表示，该系统将成为瑞士一体化防空体系的一部分。

瑞士国防军表示，3月31日至4月11日期间，瑞士国防军对亨索尔特公司的TRML-4D雷达进行了测试，用于其新型中程防空系统，这标志着采购流程又向前迈进了一步。

Armasuisse表示，他们与Diehl和Hensoldt一起在瑞士的特定地形中测试了雷达的性能，该雷达用于探测包括PC-12、F/A-18和直升机在内的飞机。

瑞士是欧洲山地最多的国家之一，山地覆盖了该国 70% 的领土，约四分之一的面积由海拔 2000 米（6562 英尺）以上的山峰组成。

测试还检验了其与民用系统（例如气象雷达）的频率兼容性。

该国于 10 月加入欧洲天空之盾计划，成为该计划的第 15 个成员，初期重点是中程防空，同时表示期待未来在短程和远程防御方面有合作机会。

其他IRIS-T SLM系统的用户包括德国和乌克兰，拉脱维亚于2023年11月订购了该系统，斯洛文尼亚和保加利亚则于去年订购。该系统通常包括火控单元、雷达单元和多联装导弹发射器。

瑞士国防工业公司（Armasuisse）表示：“此次更新将弥补防区外武器防御能力方面的现有差距，使其能够打击中距离接近的目标，从而利用‘爱国者’系统扩展远程地面防空能力。目前使用的系统即将达到使用寿命终点。”

此外，迪尔公司表示，已与丹麦MDSI公司签署合作协议，旨在扩大IRIS-T短程导弹在战斗机上的有效载荷集成范围。迪尔公司称，该导弹是欧洲战斗机和萨博鹰狮战斗机的标准武器装备，也可用于F-16、旋风战斗机、EF-18、KF-21和F-5E战斗机。

“通过与 MDSI 合作，我们能够让空军在以前被认为兼容性有限的平台上充分发挥我们导弹系统的潜力，”迪尔公司集成项目高级经理马丁·沃尔泽说。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。