IRIS-T

The origins of the Iris-T go back to the 1980s when, during the Cold War, it was necessary develop substitutes for the short range Sidewinder and Sparrow medium range air to air missiles. Great Britain and Germany would be responsible for the short-range missile and the United States will be responsible for the medium-range missile, but in 1990 the project was cancelled and each country designed its own missile. It was then, that Germany decided to complete its project of a short-range missile with exceptional manoeuvrability and high resistance to countermeasures. In 1995, half a dozen other countries joined Germany, and finally in 2005 they were able to present the new Iris-T missile. It is a short-range infra-red guided missile capable of differentiating between countermeasures and its target, which makes it lethal once launched.

IRIS-T gallery and more info