Germany Pushes Homegrown Air-Defense Rollout to Offset Patriot

An IRIS-T air defense system from Diehl Defence.

Source: picture alliance/Getty Images
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Germany’s government is pressing manufacturer Diehl to accelerate development of a homegrown, longer-range air-defense system to reduce its reliance on US-made Patriot units, according to people familiar with the matter.

Berlin wants to speed the rollout of the Iris-T SLX in order to fortify its defenses and reduce dependence on the US for security under President Donald Trump, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing sensitive matters.