Two Systems for Delivery 2024
Rheinmetall is supplying an international customer with two Skynex air defence systems in an order valued at €182 million ($192 million), with delivery scheduled for early 2024, according to a 9 December announcement. An additional component of the order is HX trucks from Rheinmetall in the amount of €12 million, to be delivered with the Skynex systems.
Relying on automatic cannon-based air defence, Skynex lends itself especially well to very short-range contexts, in which guided missiles are ineffective. Moreover, the use of the company’s programmable 35mm Ahead ammunition is significantly less expensive than comparable missile-based systems. Equally important is the fact that the ammunition cannot be influenced – much less jammed – by electronic countermeasures. The success of the self-propelled Flakpanzer Gepard antiaircraft system in Ukraine underscores the effectiveness of 35mm gun-based air defence against aerial targets, especially cruise missiles and drones.
The advanced Skynex system is based on a concept that keeps airspace surveillance separate from the effectors. Owing to this modularity, the required assets can be linked to a C2 network. System agnostic with respect to compatibility with third-party radar, Skynex also offers great freedom with respect to effectors, enabling integration of diverse advanced air defence weapons. Having its own tracking unit is the sole prerequisite. Besides individual sensors and effectors, existing air defence systems – such as the Skyshield and Skyguard families – can be built into the new architecture as fire units. In a remotely-located command and weapon engagement centre, the recognised air situation is depicted on a map, together with the sensors and effectors positioned in the field, thus simplifying allocation of targets to connected air defence assets.
