BAAINBw, Germany’s procurement office, signed a contract on October 2, 2026, with Diehl Defence to adapt the IRIS-T SLM, a surface-to-air missile system for the German Navy’s four Baden-Württemberg-class (F125) frigates.
The German parliament’s budget committee approved the deal directly on September 23, 2026. According to the Federal Ministry of Defence, the upgrade addresses growing air threats, referencing the missile system’s operational success in Ukraine
When originally commissioned, the 7,200-ton F125 frigates lacked medium- or long-range air defense capabilities, relying only on short-range anti-ship missiles and RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM).
This gap in air protection was highlighted in 2024, when the Baden-Württemberg frigate, during its return from the Indo-Pacific, sailed through Africa—detouring— instead of sailing through the Red Sea.
Under the new adaptation plan, each of the four F125 frigates (Baden-Württemberg, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Sachsen-Anhalt, and Rheinland-Pfalz) will be equipped with two deck-mounted launchers.
The shipboard system will complement a total of 32 IRIS-T SLM missiles per vessel, which means 16 launchers per frigate. And lastly, the
Content Original Link:
" target="_blank">
