Diehl delivers 4,000th production IRIS-T missile to Sweden

The 4,000th production IRIS-T series missile from Dielh Defense of Germany has been delivered to the Swedish military, the company announced.

The IRIS-T, or infrared imaging system tail/thrust vector controlled, missile is a short-range weapon with an IR seeker-assisted radar proximity fuse and the large warhead.

It was originally developed under a multi-national program involving Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden as a replacement for the U.S.-made Sidewinder air-to-air missile but is now also used as a ground-based air defense system.

"Based on its outstanding capabilities and performances, IRIS-T represents a dual-role missile also suitable for surface-to-air missions," Diehl said.

"The jubilee missile will enter service in a Swedish Armed Forces Ground Based Air Defense regiment. "IRIS-T program partner Sweden is the launch customer for the IRIS-T SLS GBAD system."

Other features of the missile include predictive flight path tracking and lock-on-after-launch capability.

IRIS-T first entered production in 2005.