IRIS-T SLS

A German short-range, infrared-guided surface-to-air missile system derived from the IRIS-T air-to-air missile, providing mobile point defense against aircraft, helicopters and UAVs. It is the shorter-range companion to the medium-range IRIS-T SLM.

In service since 2015 · 4 operator countries

Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02

km range

8,000

m altitude

targets

Pricing: Unit cost not publicly disclosed

Procurement snapshot

Availability & export

German export-licensed

BAFA licensing with strict end-use review; approvals can be politically constrained.

Channel: Direct commercial / G2G

Fielded & proven

Established · 4 operators

In service since 2015. Status: active.

Lifecycle cost (est.)

No public unit price to model from.

Interoperability

Link 16

Derived guidance from public data — export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.

Full specifications

Performance

Speed, range, altitude and engagement capability.

Max speed (Mach) Maximum speed as a multiple of the speed of sound. Mach 2+ is typical for air-superiority fighters.: 3 Mach

Stronger than 34% of air-defense systems
Engagement range Maximum distance at which an air-defense system can intercept targets. Higher covers more airspace.: 12 km

Stronger than 17% of air-defense systems
Engagement altitude Maximum target altitude the system can reach.: 8,000 m

Stronger than 17% of air-defense systems
Simultaneous targets Number of targets the system can engage at once. Higher resists saturation attacks.: 4

Stronger than 22% of air-defense systems

Firepower

Armament, payload and guidance.

Main armament Primary weapon: main gun, cannon or missile type.: IRIS-T interceptor missile
Warhead Warhead mass. Heavier generally means larger effect radius, at the cost of range.: 11 kg

Stronger than 13% of air-defense systems
Warhead type Blast-fragmentation, shaped charge (HEAT), penetrator, thermobaric or nuclear-capable.: Fragmentation
Guidance How the weapon finds its target: inertial, GPS/GLONASS, active/semi-active radar, infrared, laser, TV, wire.: Imaging infrared homing

Sensors & avionics

Radar, sensor suite and datalinks.

Radar Primary radar. AESA (active electronically scanned array) is the current state of the art.: Ground-based surveillance radar (system-dependent)
Datalink Network connectivity: Link 16, MADL, national datalinks. Enables cooperative engagement.: Link 16 (integration-dependent)

Program

Cost, production scale and operators.

Operator countries Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.: 4

Stronger than 63% of air-defense systems

Specifications compiled from public Diehl Defence and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations — treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.

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