DSEI 2025: Skyranger air defence system gets tracks
Rheinmetall Skyranger 35mm air defence systems integrated onto a Rheinmetall Lynx KF 41 tracked chassis. (Photo: Rheinmetall)
The Skyranger is in service with Austria, Denmark and Germany in the 30mm variant on wheeled vehicles, while Ukraine is receiving the system fitted to the Leopard 1 tank chassis, but this is the first sight of the 35mm on a tracked vehicle.
The Rheinmetall Skyranger 35mm air defence turret, normally mounted on a wheeled platform, is being shown at DSEI 2025 on the Rheinmetall KF41 Lynx tracked platform in a move designed to entice current future users of the Lynx.
The Lynx is already in volume production for Hungary for a total of 218 vehicles and is being offered to other countries to meet their infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) requirements.
The Skyranger is a remote-controlled turret armed with an Oerlikon KDG 35mm/90-calibre gas-operated revolver cannon provided with 252 rounds of ready use ammunition and with the empty cartridge cases being ejected externally of the turret.
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According to Rheinmetall, it has a high degree of commonality with the 35mm Oerlikon revolver cannon Mk 3.
In the air defence role, maximum range is 4km with a cyclic rate of fire of 1,000 rounds per minute or a single shot mode at a rate of fire of 200 rounds per minute.
For the demanding air defence/counter uncrewed aerial system role it would typically fire the latest generation advanced hit efficiency and destruction (AHEAD) 35×228mm round which has a muzzle vehicle of 1,050m/s. There are a number of 35mm AHEAD rounds with different payloads of sub-munitions.
Other types of 35×228mm ammunition can be fired including high-explosive incendiary (HEI), HEI-tracer, frangible armour piercing and their associated training natures.
Skyranger turret has all electric traverse through 360° with elevation from -5° to +85°.
As well as being integrated with an overall layered air defence system, it has a stand-alone capability as the tracking radar is mounted on the roof with an instrumented range of 30km.
There is also a Skyranger 30 turret armed with a 30mm cannon with the option of fire-and-forget surface-to-air missiles such as the Stinger.
The Skyranger air defence turret is already in production for a number of countries including Austria, with 30mm weapons on 16 General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) Pandur Evo; and Denmark, with 30mm weapons on 19 GDELS Piranha 5 8x8.
Germany also has an initial 22 30mm weapons on ARTEC Boxer 8×8 multi-role armoured vehicles while Ukraine will get Skyranger 35mm on the Leopard 1 chassis.
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