Airbus Defence and Space has successfully integrated key components of Germany’s and Sweden’s air defence systems during NATO’s SPARTAN ARROW 26 exercise, held on the Greek island of Crete.
According to Airbus, the first-ever connection was established between the German Air Force’s IRIS-T SLM air defence system and the Swedish Air Force’s Patriot air defence system and Germany’s SAMOC (Surface-to-Air Missile Operations Centre) command post. The command post provides coordination between air defence assets and serves as a central software-based command and control hub for managing the systems.
In close cooperation with the German and Swedish armed forces, Airbus demonstrated seamless interoperability between the systems in a near-realistic environment and in real time, with the aim of countering unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and cruise missiles.
Following successful integration with SAMOC, the IRIS-T SLM system conducted its first live-fire engagement under the control of a German crew. This is one of the key prerequisites for the system’s official certification by NATO.
At the same time, the Swedish Air Force carried out its first independent live-fire engagement with the Patriot system through the integrated network. The event is significant for NATO’s certification and approval of Sweden’s Patriot systems, as well as for demonstrating bilateral interoperability between Germany and Sweden.
In addition, Airbus integrated the German Army’s LeFlaSys lightweight air defence system, designed to counter short-range UAV threats, into the network. This created a layered air defence architecture covering long-, medium- and short-range threats.
Andreas Reinecke, Head of Defence Digitalisation and Cybersecurity at Airbus Defence and Space, said that modern air defence effectiveness depends not on the performance of individual products, but on a unified, seamlessly integrated set of capabilities.
“At Crete, our command-and-control solution demonstrated how effectively systems can work together, from the initial detection of a target to a precision strike. The SAMOC command post brings individual weapon systems together into a reliable digital defence shield for Europe,” he said.
According to Airbus, data gathered under realistic operational conditions on engagement-lane throughput, response times and resilience to electronic interference will be used to further develop NATO’s networked command-and-control capabilities.
