Airbus connects German IRIS-T and Swedish Patriot in NATO air defence network test

Airbus connected German IRIS-T SLM and Swedish Patriot air-defense systems to a German Surface to Air Missile Operations Centre during NATO exercise SPARTAN ARROW 26 in Crete. The demonstration used SAMOC as a common command hub to coordinate the two national systems against drone and cruise-missile scenarios in real time. Germany conducted its first IRIS-T SLM live firing with an entirely German crew, while Sweden completed its first independent Patriot live firing through the network. Announced on October 14, the exercise supported system certification and demonstrated interoperability between different missile systems without requiring both countries to operate identical equipment.