Germany delivered the first of four IRIS-T air defence systems to Ukraine on Tuesday, according to Ukraine’s Defense Minister, Oleksii Reznikov, who announced the arrival on Twitter.
Reznikov added more US-made NASAMS are also being delivered, saying the weapons systems will usher in a “new era of air defense.”
A new era of air defence has begun in 🇺🇦. IRIS-Ts from 🇩🇪 are already here. 🇺🇸 NASAMS are coming. This is only the beginning. And we need more. No doubt that russia is a terrorist state.
There is a moral imperative to protect the sky over 🇺🇦 in order to save our people. pic.twitter.com/jvbXUwDjc8— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) October 11, 2022
“There is a moral imperative to protect the sky over (Ukraine) in order to save our people,” Reznikov added.
The long-promised systems, which are capable of protecting an entire city, were originally slated to be delivered at the end of the year.
Monday’s deadly Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities, however, have sped up the delivery timeline.
“The renewed missile fire on Kyiv and the many other cities show how important it is to supply Ukraine with air defense systems quickly,” German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said on Monday. “Russia’s attacks with missiles and drones terrorize the civilian population,” the statement added.
The IRIS-T SLM can defend from approaching missiles at an altitude of up to 20 kilometers and a distance up to 40 kilometers.
This is an excerpt from an article first published on the Deutsche Welle website – click here to read full story.
