Rheinmetall has received another major order in the field of mobile air defense: After the first customer German Armed Forces (-> Austria relies on Skyranger turrets) and the Bundeswehr (-> Germany also relies on Rheinmetall Skyranger), Denmark has now also ordered Skyranger 30 anti-aircraft turrets after a long period of planning. Specifically, the order is for 16 systems to be built on 8×8 Piranha V systems from General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS).
According to Rheinmetall, the order value is “in the low three-digit million euro range”. Denmark has also ordered ammunition “in the low double-digit million euro range”. The serial towers are to be delivered in 2027 and 2028, while a prototype is expected to be delivered at the end of 2026. A fundamental type decision had already been made by Denmark in spring 2023 had already been made.
Lieutenant General Per Pugholm Olsen, Director of the Danish Procurement Agency FMI: “This contract is an important step towards creating an air defense capability for the brigade, which in turn contributes significantly to its full operational capability. The Skyranger turret and its automatic cannon were selected in close cooperation with our comrades at the Defense Command.”
“We are grateful that Denmark is now another well-known NATO-customer relies on our Skyranger 30,” says Oliver Dürr, Head of the Rheinmetall Electronic Solutions Division (-> Interview with Militär Aktuell: “When we shoot, we hit”).
“We are delighted that the Skyranger is being integrated into another vehicle platform. This shows the modularity and adaptability of our system.”
Oliver Dürr, Leiter der Rheinmetall Electronic Solutions Division
As a hybrid solution, the Skyranger 30 turret combines the powerful 30 millimeter x 173 KCE turret gun, ground-to-air missiles and the necessary sensor technology on a single platform. This enables both autonomous and networked deployment. The airburst ammunition with programmable airburst point (-> How does Ahead ammunition work?), the system is particularly suitable for defending against drones.
“The order that has now been placed once again underlines Rheinmetall’s role as the global market leader in cannon-based air defense,” the company states in its press release. In addition to Austria, 36 Skyranger turrets on Pandur Evolution from GDELS-Steyr Germany has also decided to procure one: The Bundeswehr plans to take delivery of an initial prototype this year and also ordered 18 additional Skyranger 30 turrets on 8×8 Boxers from Rheinmetall. There is also an option for the procurement of 30 additional anti-aircraft tanks.
In December 2023, Hungary also commissioned Rheinmetall with the conceptual development of the Skyranger 30 turret for the future air defense variant of the Lynx KF41 tracked vehicle tracked vehicle. And in January 2024, Rheinmetall, together with Diehl Defense and Hensoldt with the development of the close and short-range air defense system (NNbS) for the German Armed Forcesin which the Skyranger 30 will be integrated as an important component in the future.
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