Sweden has placed an order with Diehl Defence of Germany to obtain an advanced ground-based air-defence missile system to protect Gotland. The largest Swedish island is strategically located in the Baltic Sea and whoever controls it, controls the aerospace to/from the Baltic States, parts of Sweden, Poland and Finland.
In total, the Swedes purchase seven firing units, totalling 49 vehicles, with deliveries commencing in 2028. “Since the time constraints are very short, we have to focus largely on systems that are already in production and operation,” Christer Mellgren, Project Leader at the Swedish Armed Forces Matériel Agency FMV says in a statement. “We simply don’t have time to develop new systems or make major adjustments. We also have a fixed budget that means we have to sacrifice certain things to keep everything within budget.”
Battle-tested in Ukraine
The IRIS-T SLM has a range of 40 kilometres (25 miles) and can hit aircraft, helicopters, drones and certain types of missiles up to 20 kilometres (65,660 feet) of altitude. The system has been battle-tested in Ukraine. Moreover, the Swedish Air Force uses an airborne version of the IRIS-T missile on its indigenous SAAB Gripen combat jets.
Gotland and its military
Gotland is seen as very strategic in any possible war scenario in Scandinavia. Military observers fear that in armed conflict with Russia, Moscow will try to seize Gotland as one of its first objectives. In 2022, Sweden remilitarised the island with a permanent presence, including a tank unit. In the decades before, Gotland was defended only by 9 military professionals, and about 500 local reserves. During the Cold War in the last century, up to 20,000 troops including a strong artillery unit were present on Gotland. Back then, parts of the island were forbidden area for non-Swedes. | © 2025 Marcel Burger, nordicreporter.com. Press photo of the IRIS-T SLM: Diehl Defence