Diehl Defence successfully demonstrated its ground-based air defence system IRIS-T SLM in the presence of international experts and military representatives from 16 nations at the Overberg Test Range in South Africa recently.

The IRIS-T SLM ground based air defence system is characterised by its modular design and open system architecture. In the current campaign, IRIS-T SLM consisted of the new CEAFAR radar of CEA Technologies, Australia, a tactical operation centre (TOC) employing both the BMD-Flex command, control and communication system of Terma A/S, Denmark, and the Oerlikon Skymaster battle management system of Rheinmetall Air Defence, Switzerland, as well as the IRIST SL launching station with Diehl Defence missiles. All elements were integrated into the system by the Diehl Defence Sensor, Fire, and Weapon Control.

IRIS-T SLM detected the low flying target drone of type DO DT-25 and established a stable track which was classified as hostile. The missile was launched at a distance of about 20 km and intercepted the target with a direct hit. During the entire flight, target data updates from the radar were provided to the missile through the data link allowing the infrared seeker to lock onto the target in flight for the endgame. All hardware and software components performed flawlessly.