Is Diehl plant, producing missiles and IRIS-T systems, really on fire in Berlin?

Ukrainian Defense Express expert group explained.

Amid a really dangerous fire at one of the production facilities in Berlin, the news spread online that the IRIS-T missile and air defense system manufacturing plant - Diehl - was on fire.

This is a rather complicated fire, as the fire service of the German capital directly reports, because the room containing the chemicals is burning. Because of the smoke, Berliners are advised to close their windows and not switch on air conditioning.

"Although the fire did engulf a Diehl corporation enterprise, it was not Diehl Defense, but Diehl Metall. All of them do belong to Diehl, one of the largest German corporations with sales of 3.5 billion euros a year and 16.5 thousand employees, which covers five main areas. In addition to the above, there are Diehl Aviation, Diehl Controls and Diehl Metering, as well as dozens of individual production units and sites," Defense Express explained.

The premises of one of them, Diehl Metal Applications GmbH, were damaged in the fire. The company manufactures copper alloy products, electroplating, and complex stamped products. It is possible that some of the company's products are used in the production of missiles or IRIS-T systems, but it is definitely not the final production. Therefore, there is hardly a catastrophic threat to the IRIS-T production rate.

It should be noted that Ukraine will receive them on a regular basis as they are manufactured and will soon be reinforced with another IRIS-T SLM medium-range system. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are also being reinforced with IRIS-T SLS - short-range systems.

In total, according to a public report by the German government, Ukraine is to receive 9 more IRIS-T SLM systems and 11 IRIS-T SLS systems.