Following system validation one year ago, Diehl Defence´s IRIS-T Surface Launched (IRIS-T SL) demonstrated its full performance as the most advanced Short to Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM). During this final firing campaign, concluding guided missile qualification at the Overberg Test Range in South Africa in January 2015, three guided firings were executed in different short- to medium-range and very low- to high-altitude scenarios. All of them resulted in direct hits of the target drones. To prove the capabilities of IRIS-T SL, jet target drones of different sizes were used performing a large variety of realistic evasive maneuvers.

The first target was engaged at a distance of more than 30 km. The IRIS-T SL missile flight time was about one minute reaching an altitude above 12 km. Despite an evasive maneuver involving changing direction and altitude, a direct hit of the target was achieved proving the medium range capabilities of IRIS-T SL.