{"id":66575,"date":"2023-12-04T14:16:42","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T14:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2023\/12\/04\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:00:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:00:40","slug":"latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2023\/12\/04\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\/","title":{"rendered":"Latvia signs order for German IRIS-T air defenses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MILAN \u2014 The Latvian government has inked a contract worth roughly \u20ac600 million ($650 milliion) with Germany\u2019s Diehl Defence for the company\u2019s IRIS-T medium-range air defense system, the manufacturer announced on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The deal, signed on Nov. 30, is the Baltic country\u2019s \u201cbiggest defense investment since its independence more than 30 years ago,\u201d Diehl said in a statement. It follows a framework agreement the company previously signed with Latvia and Estonia in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe joint procurement by the two Baltic nations of one type of air defense system will allow them to save budgetary funds, facilitate mutual coordination in the defense of the Baltic States region and the interoperability of systems and components,\u201d the Dec. 4 Diehl statement reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under the contract, Riga is to begin receiving IRIS-T components in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Latvian and Estonian governments have been vocal regarding their interest in jointly procuring these types of weapons to establish a multi-layered air defense system amid Russian threats to Baltic security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In recent <a href=\"https:\/\/nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.err.ee%2F1609183456%2Fpolish-security-chief-nato-eastern-flank-states-have-3-years-to-prepare-for-russia-attack&#038;data=05%7C01%7Cssprenger%40defensenews.com%7C207ab2bb3f5d40192c3c08dbf4cbc3be%7C1d5c96e57ee2446dbed8d0f8c50edea5%7C1%7C0%7C638372928239699688%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&#038;sdata=BaRQN800ulchJcoZG%2BJyjhixssSv%2FqAnGvkzUt9TTqE%3D&#038;reserved=0\">comments<\/a> made to Polish media by Jacek Siewiera, head of Poland\u2019s National Security Bureau, he warned that states making up NATO\u2019s eastern flank have roughly three years to effectively prepare for a potential confrontation with Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The IRIS-T SLM is designed to neutralize threats posed by a variety of enemy aerial systems such as aircraft, cruise missiles, drones and helicopters operating at ranges of up to 40 km (25 miles), per Diehl\u2019s website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Ukrainian military has said its forces are employing donated IRIS-T batteries to great effect in protecting population centers. Last month, the German Ministry of Defense <a href=\"https:\/\/nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.c4isrnet.com%2Felectronic-warfare%2F2023%2F11%2F24%2Fgermany-to-supply-ukraine-with-iris-t-systems-in-14-billion-package%2F%23%3A~%3Atext%3DPARIS%2520%25E2%2580%2593%2520Germany%2520will%2520provide%2520Ukraine%2Cwill%2520be%2520supplied%2520from%25202025.&#038;data=05%7C01%7Cssprenger%40defensenews.com%7C207ab2bb3f5d40192c3c08dbf4cbc3be%7C1d5c96e57ee2446dbed8d0f8c50edea5%7C1%7C0%7C638372928239699688%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&#038;sdata=Uaf%2FjTsEfyHgZ8DcGIGv1OmLmIVYQM%2BeKqw9bnp1Ckk%3D&#038;reserved=0\">announced<\/a> that four additional IRIS-T SLM would be sent to Kyiv as part of a military aid package worth over $1.4 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The reported successful success in intercepting Russian drones and missiles has become a theme in Diehl\u2019s sales pitches. In its announcement regarding the Latvia order, the company said that the system \u201cconvinces with its excellent performance in Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Baltic nations are hardening their air defenses as they expect a Russia reconstituted in a few years following losses in Ukraine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":118413,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":46,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,46,11,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3487],"class_list":["post-66575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-europe","category-global","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"GB45OIWJANEVVLSJJBB63D26ZI","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/europe\/2023\/12\/04\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Latvia signs order for German IRIS-T air defenses - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Baltic nations are hardening their air defenses as they expect a Russia reconstituted in a few years following losses in Ukraine.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Latvia signs order for German IRIS-T air defenses\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Baltic nations are hardening their air defenses as they expect a Russia reconstituted in a few years following losses in Ukraine.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2023\/12\/04\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-04T14:16:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T01:00:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/04\\\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/04\\\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Latvia signs order for German IRIS-T air defenses\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2023-12-04T14:16:42+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T01:00:40+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/04\\\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 328,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/04\\\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Luft_01_GBAD_System.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Europe\",\n\t                \"Global\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/04\\\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/04\\\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/04\\\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Latvia signs order for German IRIS-T air defenses - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/04\\\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/04\\\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Luft_01_GBAD_System.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2023-12-04T14:16:42+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T01:00:40+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"The Baltic nations are hardening their air defenses as they expect a Russia reconstituted in a few years following losses in Ukraine.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/04\\\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/04\\\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/04\\\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Luft_01_GBAD_System.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Luft_01_GBAD_System.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/04\\\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Global\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"global\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Europe\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"europe\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 4,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Latvia signs order for German IRIS-T air defenses\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Latvia signs order for German IRIS-T air defenses - Defense News","description":"The Baltic nations are hardening their air defenses as they expect a Russia reconstituted in a few years following losses in Ukraine.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Latvia signs order for German IRIS-T air defenses","og_description":"The Baltic nations are hardening their air defenses as they expect a Russia reconstituted in a few years following losses in Ukraine.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2023\/12\/04\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2023-12-04T14:16:42+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T01:00:40+00:00","author":"Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2023\/12\/04\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2023\/12\/04\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Latvia signs order for German IRIS-T air defenses","datePublished":"2023-12-04T14:16:42+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T01:00:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2023\/12\/04\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\/"},"wordCount":328,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2023\/12\/04\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Luft_01_GBAD_System.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Europe","Global","Newsletters"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2023\/12\/04\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2023\/12\/04\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2023\/12\/04\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\/","name":"Latvia signs order for German IRIS-T air defenses - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2023\/12\/04\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2023\/12\/04\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Luft_01_GBAD_System.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2023-12-04T14:16:42+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T01:00:40+00:00","description":"The Baltic nations are hardening their air defenses as they expect a Russia reconstituted in a few years following losses in Ukraine.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2023\/12\/04\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2023\/12\/04\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2023\/12\/04\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Luft_01_GBAD_System.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Luft_01_GBAD_System.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2023\/12\/04\/latvia-signs-order-for-german-iris-t-air-defenses\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Global","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/","ad_zone":"global"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Europe","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/","ad_zone":"europe"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Latvia signs order for German IRIS-T air defenses"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Luft_01_GBAD_System.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66575"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66588,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66575\/revisions\/66588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66575"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=66575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}