Rheinmetall receives order for millions-of-euros of 35mm ammunition
Rheinmetall 35mm AHEAD ammunition can be used with the Skynex air defence system. (Photo: Rheinmetall)
Each round of Rheinmetall’s AHEAD (Advanced Hit Efficiency and Destruction) ammunition has been programmed to eject its payload of 152 tungsten sub-projectiles at the optimum point to destroy the target.
Rheinmetall has received an order from a European customer for AHEAD 35mm ammunition worth a low triple-digit million euro amount. Under the terms of the deal a six-digit number of cartridges will be manufactured.
AHEAD ammunition can be used with the Skynex air defence system. It has been designed to be less expensive than guided missiles or ammunition and is immune to electronic countermeasures. Skynex was based on cannon-based air defence for close-range protection where guided weapons can be less effective.
The customer for the AHEAD ammunition was not disclosed. In March last year, however, Rheinmetall was awarded a further contract to supply Skynex air defence systems to a European customer. Earlier this year it was disclosed that Ukraine was using the system and Skynex has been ordered by Romania and Austria.
The deliveries in March 2023 were planned to take place over the course of 2025 and, as with the initial contract, will also include the associated Rheinmetall-made HX trucks.
The company said the system was capable of neutralising incoming rockets, artillery and mortar rounds, as well as bringing down UAS in the low, slow, small (LSS) subset such as quadrocopter drones. The system can also target conventional aircraft flying at close ranges.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Land Warfare
-
![Borsuk IFV programme marks turning point for Poland’s armoured modernisation]()
Borsuk IFV programme marks turning point for Poland’s armoured modernisation
The Borsuk vehicles are to replace the Soviet-designed BMP-1 as the Polish military’s main tracked Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV).
-
![DroneShield nets largest order ever with $40 million European CUAS contract]()
DroneShield nets largest order ever with $40 million European CUAS contract
The package of three standalone follow-on contracts makes this the largest contract won by the Australian company and larger than its total 2024 revenue.
-
![Patria completes test firing of new self-propelled gun as demand for systems grows]()
Patria completes test firing of new self-propelled gun as demand for systems grows
Patria quotes a maximum rate of fire of eight rounds a minute from the new ARVE (ARtillery on VEhicle) self-propelled gun with a range of 40km for an assisted round. The rapid, low-risk development is designed to meet emerging requirements which have arisen out of the Ukraine war.
-
![US Army modernisation plans raise big concerns for lawmakers]()
US Army modernisation plans raise big concerns for lawmakers
The termination of programmes such as JLTV and RCV has been harshly criticised by members of the US Congress.
-
![The power of partnership: GDMS–UK deepens cooperation with the British Army]()
The power of partnership: GDMS–UK deepens cooperation with the British Army
In Conversation: Shephard's Gerrard Cowan talks to General Dynamics Mission Systems–United Kingdom’s Chris Burrows about how the company's UK TacCIS business is reshaping battlefield communications through sustained customer engagement, accelerated innovation and ecosystem collaboration.
