On October 15, 2025, the German company Diehl Defense GmbH & Co. KG (part of the Diehl Group) announced that, as part of the German Navy's Maritime Firing Exercise 2025 (MFE 2025, Andøya) missile firing exercises, it demonstrated a ship-based containerized version of its land-based anti-aircraft missile system installed on the deck of the German frigate F 222 Baden-Württemberg Project 125. The IRIS-T SLM medium-range missile system.
The ship's containerized AAW demonstrator module of the Diehl Defense IRIS-T SLM ground-based medium-range anti-aircraft missile system, installed for testing on the deck of the superstructure of the German frigate F 222 Baden-Württemberg project 125. 2025 (c) Diehl Defense
It is reported that the ship's containerized AAW (Anti-Air Warfare) demonstration module of the IRIS-T SLM air defense system was developed by the company in partnership with the German Navy in less than ten months, and during the MFE 2025 exercises off the coast of Norway, successful test firings of this module were conducted from the deck of the Baden-Württemberg frigate. On the frigate, the module was installed on the deck of the superstructure in the middle part of the ship (the so-called C-Deck).
The work was carried out under a contract awarded to Diehl Defense in December 2024 by the German Federal defense procurement agency BAAINBw (Bundesamt für Ausrüstung, Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr).
According to a statement from Diehl Defense, "the IRIS-T SLM complex, which has already proven its combat effectiveness in Ukraine, has demonstrated its well-known qualities on the high seas by completing all the test and experimental tasks assigned at the MFE 2025 exercises. The IRIS-T SLM complex in marine design has confirmed its high performance. Thus, Diehl Defense has reached an important milestone by successfully testing for the first time a marine version of the air defense system with an IRIS-T family missile. The successful test paves the way for the serial implementation of the IRIS-T SLM complex for the Navy."
It can be assumed that the ship's containerized version of the IRIS-T SLM air defense system was created clearly under the influence of the use of the 9K331MKM naval combat module of the Tor-M2KM short-range anti-aircraft missile system in the Russian Navy.
Developed by Diehl Defense with funding from the German Ministry of Defense under a 2007 contract and mass-produced from 2021, the IRIS-T SLM air defense system uses a specially designed anti-aircraft guided missile with a range of up to 40 km and an altitude range of up to 20 km, equipped with an infrared homing head manufactured by Diehl Defense of the IRIS-T air-to-air guided missile."short range. The IRIS-T SLM missile uses additional radio command guidance (combined with inertial-satellite correction) in the main section of the trajectory with the capture of an IIR type infrared seeker target in the final section. The mass of the rocket with a transport and launch container is 280 kg. The ground-based complex includes a TOC (Tactical Operations Center) command post, a mobile Saab Giraffe 4A or Hensoldt TRML-4D radar with AFAR and three mobile vertical launchers with eight missiles each.
The ship's version of the complex uses a vertical launcher mounted on the ship's deck, which, apparently, was integrated into the frigate's ANCS control system and adapted to work with the TRS-4D shipboard general detection radar.
The ship's containerized AAW demonstrator module of the Diehl Defense IRIS-T SLM ground-based medium-range anti-aircraft missile system, installed for testing on the deck of the superstructure of the German frigate F 222 Baden-Württemberg project 125. 2025 (c) Diehl Defense
The lead frigate F 222 Baden-Württemberg project 125 of the German Navy (c) Nico Theska / Bundeswehr
