IDAS (Interactive Defence and Attack System for Submarines) is a medium-range

missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...

currently being developed for the Type 209 and Type 212A submarine class of the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is part of the unified (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Marine'' (German Navy) became the official ...

. IDAS technology is based on the

IRIS-T The IRIS-T (infrared imaging system tail/thrust vector-controlled) is a family of short range infrared homing air-to-air missile, air-to-air and short to medium range surface-to-air missile, surface-to-air missiles. It is also called AIM-2000. ...

air-to-air missile An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft (including unmanned aircraft such as cruise missiles). AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid-fuel roc ...

which primarily targets aerial threats, such as ASW

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

s, but also against small or medium-sized surface vessels or coastal land targets. It is currently being developed by Diehl Defence and HDW, which is a part of Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), to be fired from Type 212's

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

tubes. IDAS use imaging infrared guidance with a fiber optic link to the boat and officially has a range of approximately 20 km. Four

s will fit in one

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

, stored in a

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

. First deliveries of IDAS for the

and operational service were planned from 2014 on. Except for a few years of testing by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and

Israeli Navy The Israeli Navy (, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'', ; ) is the Israel Defense Forces#Arms, naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in the Mediterranean Sea theater as well as the Gulf of Eilat and the Red Sea th ...

of the short range TV guided Blowpipe missile in the 1970s the IDAS system is the world's first missile which gives submarines the capability to engage air threats whilst submerged, and the first tube-launched missile that does not emerge in a capsule, but is fired directly from the torpedo tubes. Alternatively, IDAS could be in theory fired from the Gabler Maschinenbau TRIPLE-M mast system, but, at least in the new Type 216 submarine currently under development, IDAS will be fired as normal from the torpedo tubes, while the

Muraena ''Muraena'' is a genus of twelve species of large eels in the family Muraenidae. This genus is common in the Mediterranean, and is abundantly represented in tropical and subtropical seas, especially in rocky parts or on coral reefs. In the majo ...

will be the primary weapons option for its TRIPLE-M system. In May 2013, the Turkish company ROKETSAN and the German IDAS Consortium formed by Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems and Diehl BGT Defence signed a cooperation agreement to develop and supply the submarine-launched IDAS missile

Operators

Future operators

; : Purchase approved by the parliament in December 2024, to equip the Type 212CD. : The order was placed in January 2025.

Potential operators

; : Purchase possible as the Norwegian Navy ordered 6 Type 212CD. :

References

{{reflist

External links

Diehl BGT Defence official website

First test of IDAS by the German Navy
Naval surface-to-air missiles Surface-to-air missiles of Germany 21st-century surface-to-air missiles Post–Cold War weapons of Germany Anti-ship missiles of Germany Proposed weapons