Ukraine Hopes the New IRIS-T Weapon System Will Protect it From Suicide Drones

Recently, Reuters journeyed to a secret location deep within the German woods to witness Ukrainian soldiers training on a weapons system they say is keeping the skies safe from cruise missiles and suicide drones. It's the IRIS-T, a medium range homing missile that Kyiv says is key to its defense.

The IRIS-T, or InfraRed Imaging System Tail/Thrust Vector-Controlled, is a homing missile that uses infrared to lock onto a target and knock it out of the air. The short-range missiles were originally designed to replace the Sidewinder, the air-to-air missile that recently destroyed a balloon over lake Huron. The IRIS-T can be fired from a jet or the surface, and it's this latter configuration that Kyiv is finding so beneficial to its defense against Russia.

Throughout the war, Russia has used cruise missiles to destroy Ukraine's infrastructure. The attacks come indiscriminately, knocking out water and electricity from major Ukrainian cities and putting pressure on the civilian population. One of the deadliest weapons used by Moscow are the Iranian made Shahed drones, a munition packed suicide bomb that can carry a 110 pound warhead.

The aerial assault has tested Ukraine's air defenses, which spend a good deal of time shooting missiles and drones out of the air before they can detonate. According to Ukraine, the IRIS-T missiles have become a critical part of that defense. A few days ago, our air force commander said IRIS-T has hit 51 out of 51 targets, that's a 100% quota for Shahed drones and cruise missiles," a Ukrainian soldier told Reuters.

Oleksii Reznikov photo via Twitter.

Kyiv has been asking for help bolstering its air defense systems for almost a decade. Kyiv called on its allies in the West to send Patriot missile systems and Stinger missiles to Ukraine after Russia illegally annexed Crimia in 2014. NATO refused. We didn't want to provoke Putin," a Biden administration official told NBC News. How did that work out?" The Patriot missile system, once seen as a weapon that would provoke Moscow, is now on its way to Ukraine.

Air defense weapons like the IRIS-T and Patriot missiles aren't foolproof. Humans, aided by radar and other systems, still have to identify incoming attacks and launch their own missiles in time. Air defense systems cut down on destruction, but they don't eliminate it.

The IRIS-T system was developed and manufactured by Germany. Right now, Ukraine only has one launcher but Germany will send more. The system is so new and advanced that Germany does not even own one itself, it has purchased eight and is sending the first four to Ukraine as the manufacturer finishes them.

Each system costs $140 million dollars and consists of three pieces of equipment riding on the back of three different trucks. There's a radar truck with a range of 150 miles that identifies incoming targets, a high powered launcher that can hit targets within 25 miles, and a command and control truck that oversees everything.

The missiles are so new that little is known about how they function or perform. Testing on the system was only completed in 2021. It can supposedly be deployed in a third the time of the Patriot missile system, buying Ukraine crucial minutes to eliminate incoming suicide drones and cruise missiles.