German AF, GMSH and Diehl Defence Inaugurate the Ground-based Air Defence Training Facility

The German Air Force, together with Diehl Defence, the system house for the IRIS-T SLM ground-based air defence system, and Gebäudemanagement Schleswig-Holstein AöR (GMSH), inaugurated the training facility for ground-based air defence at the military training area Todendorf of the Bundeswehr Homeland Defence Command on the Baltic Sea.

Representatives of the three partners handed over the completed part of the facility to the training organization of industry and armed forces, which marks the symbolic starting signal for the commencement of training operations. First trainings will already start in summer 2023, while full capacity of the training facility will be reached by 2024.

In the future, Diehl Defence will support the German Armed Forces in Todendorf with regard to training, qualification and maintenance of the IRIS-T SLM weapon system. The company is offering its training services in Todendorf not only for the German user, but also for all other NATO and European Sky Shield Initiative customers who will procure the IRIS-T SLM system. This is carried out as multiplier training which enables users to later train their own staff.

The training area consists of four parts - the premises for theory training, the outdoor area for system training, a maintenance hangar as well as warehouse facilities - and thus contains all disciplines for a fully comprehensive training on the IRIS-T SLM system. The training facilities include a computer training room for operational and tactical (software) training on the command and control system. Diehl Defence is responsible for the industrial training elements, while the German Air Force is in charge of the tactical and operational parts.

Diehl Defence's training services in Todendorf are primarily designed for the IRIS-T SLM system. However, the offer can be extended subsequently to other systems, such as IRIS-T SLS. Todendorf is intended to provide cross-service training in this regard.

Combining the training services of industry and armed forces creates considerable synergies. Todendorf's operator model enables initial training at a high technical level, taking into account customer-specific system adaptations and requirements. The highly integrative collaboration between customers and industry creates inestimable added value for the further development of the system with the involvement of the user.