Diehl Defence and Airbus Defence and Space have signed an agreement with the objective to intensify their cooperation in the field of integrated air and missile defence (IAMD), based on both companies’ complementary technical capabilities. The agreement was signed during the ILA Berlin Air Show 2026.

Both Diehl Defence and Airbus Defence and Space (ADS) have a long and successful track record with joining forces for ground-based air defence (GBAD) systems, namely IRIS-T SLM. While Airbus Defence and Space contributes command and control (C2) solutions to this product range, Diehl Defence is responsible for the overall GBAD system which includes effectors and launchers.

Based on that experience, Diehl Defence and ADS intend to identify potentials for product enhancements, providing customers with better capabilities and improved agility of their joint products. One possible way to achieve these objectives is the founding of a commonly used ‘battle lab’ development environment.

By integrating these next-generation C2 layers and capabilities with Diehl Defence’s field-proven effectors, the partnership aims to anchor a resilient, fully networked defensive shield capable of scaling seamlessly to meet evolving NATO and ESSI requirements.

Developed in close collaboration with the German Armed Forces, the IBMS leverages decades of expertise in ‘Command and Control’ and networking, making it a trusted choice for European customers. Its combat-proven performance within the IRIS-T SLM and IRIS-T SLS systems in Ukraine validates the effectiveness of the common solutions. Building on this successful partnership, numerous nations—including Germany, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland—have now adopted these GBAD solutions.

CEO of Diehl Defence, Helmut Rauch said: “I am proud of our previous GBAD achievements with Airbus Defence and Space, and I am looking forward to taking this step further. I am convinced that we can provide intelligent and reliable solutions for our customers’ requirements in the field of Integrated Air and Missile Defence.”

CEO, Airbus Defence and Space Michael Schoellhorn stated: “Airbus continues to shape the future of Integrated Air and Missile Defence by combining our battle proven and NATO-certified Command and Control (C2) system with Diehl Defence's equally proven IRIS-T SLS/SLM family. This joint work is both the main enabler and the springboard for further expansion of the success of the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI), offering an open architecture for reliable and effective Air Defence solutions for existing and new customers.”