Germany will supply two Rheinmetall Skynex anti-aircraft complexes to the APU Germany will transfer two Skynex anti-aircraft complexes to Ukraine.
It is claimed that these systems can withstand even a swarm of drones. Military observer of the Newspaper.En" Mikhail Khodarenok - about what Skynex is capable of.
According to Rheinmetall AG CEO Armin Papperger, two Skynex systems were ordered by the German government for about €200 million, equivalent to $212 million, and will be shipped to Ukraine within a year. This is reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Rheinmetall has produced two anti-aircraft complexes of this type specifically for Ukraine. Earlier, the Skynex delivery date was indicated as the beginning of 2024.
Skynex is capable of hitting almost all types of aerodynamic targets, from manned aircraft to unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles. It is classified as a short-range anti-aircraft complex.
The Skynex anti-aircraft complex is a module with a 35 mm Oerlikon Mk3 revolver-type automatic cannon on a wheeled chassis, equipped with an X-band radar (the frequency range of centimeter wavelengths is from 3.75 to 2.5 cm) and an automated control system. The gun fires programmable AHEAD projectiles, the most effective for hitting small-sized air targets at a range of up to 4.5 km.
AHEAD (Advanced Hit Efficiency and Destruction) is a 35 mm artillery shot. It is the first ammunition for programmable (aerial) detonation of small-caliber artillery systems.
Ukraine will thus become the first known recipient of the Skynex anti-aircraft artillery complex, which is a further development of the Skyranger 35 (Skyshield) family of missiles based on the artillery module with the 35 mm automatic revolver gun Oerlikon Revolver Gun (Millenium, GDM-008), now being produced in the latest version of the Oerlikon Revolver Gun Mk 3.
The actual developer of the cannon and complexes based on it is the Rheinmetall Air Defense division - the former well-known Swiss company Oerlikon, absorbed by Rheinmetall in 2001. In the last few years Rheinmetall has started using the Oerlikon brand again to refer to its products. Such information is provided by the bmpd portal.
If necessary, the 35-mm gun can be replaced with a 30-mm gun (in this case, the range of destruction is reduced to 3 km). In addition, the Oerlikon GDF009 TREO 35 mm double cannon, Oerlikon laser cannon and Denel Cheetah C-RAM missile system can be installed on the complex.
Different types of shells are suitable for the Oerlikon Mk3 cannon.
According to experts, the use of programmable ammunition gives Skynex complexes a good chance in the fight even with a swarm of drones.
In February last year, the AFU has already received from Germany two Gepard anti-aircraft self-propelled guns (ZSU) and 6 thousand shells for them, as well as Biber tank bridge stackers, first aid kits, Zetros four-wheel drive large-capacity trucks and winter camouflage nets.
When equipping the armed forces of Ukraine with such systems, first of all they will be used to combat UAVs of the Geran 2 type and cruise missiles of various basing options.
Among other things, the military-industrial corporation Lockheed Martin is opening another plant for the production of highly mobile HIMARS army missile systems, which, according to the Ukrainian military, have proven themselves very well in combat. Their production will be increased from 48 to 96 units. This is reported by Reuters. It is quite possible that a significant part of these combat vehicles will go to the APU.
Mikhail Khodarenok
