BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany plans to supply Ukraine with IRIS-T SLM medium-range surface-to-air defense systems, a security source said on Friday.
German daily Bild previously reported that the German cabinet’s security council was discussing the issue and that IRIS-T SLM systems, made by private German arms maker Diehl Defense, could be deployed in Ukraine from November.
Ukraine’s demands for heavy weapons have intensified since Moscow earlier this month focused its firepower on the east and south of the country after failing to take the capital Kyiv.
Last week, Germany said it would deliver seven self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine, a reversal of its longstanding policy, tied to World War II history, of not sending heavy weapons in war zones.
According to Bild, Ukraine wants to receive 10 IRIS-T SLM systems, which could be manufactured over the next three to four years. The newspaper states that the system can launch missiles over a distance of 40 kilometers to shoot down fighter jets, helicopters or intercept missiles.
Training of Ukrainian soldiers in the use of the weapon could begin as soon as the German government approves the plan, according to Bild.
(Report Sabine Siebold, French version Augustin Turpin, edited by Kate Entringer)
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