Rheinmetall to deliver Skynex to Ukraine in the coming months

25 July, 2023 Skynex air defense system. Photo credits: Rheinmetall. The German company Rheinmetall will deliver two Skynex short-range air defense systems to Ukraine in the coming months.

Rheinmetall announced this on its website. In its article "Rheinmetall: A powerful partner at Ukraine's side", the company announced the supply of two 35-mm Skynex short-range air defense systems. According to the company, the systems will be placed on the Rheinmetall MAN HX 8x8 chassis.

The ammunition range will include programmable 35mm Ahead ammunition.

Rheinmetall's Skynex air defense system. Photo credits: Rheinmetall

According to Denys Shmyhal, Prime Minister of Ukraine, it is known that an unknown number of these systems are already on combat duty in Ukraine. In February, Militarnyi reported that Rheinmetall received an order from an "international client" to purchase two Skynex systems.

As it turned out, this customer is Ukraine. The 35mm Oerlikon Mk3 gun that the Skynex air defense system uses has an effective range of 4,000 meters and a rate of fire of 1,000 rounds per minute. The use of Rheinmetall's Ahead programmable 35 mm ammunition is significantly cheaper than similar air defense systems based on guided missiles.

Skynex air defense system.

Photo credits: Rheinmetall.

Skynex is equipped with the Oerlikon Skymaster command and control system. Typical targets for the system are drones, cruise missiles, and guided munitions. According to the company's calculations, the destruction of a typical air target with this system can cost about 4 thousand euros, which is almost a hundred times less than the indicators of the IRIS-T system.

Ukraine is the first country that operates this system.