Skyranger anti-aircraft turret to use Spexer sensors

The Rheinmetall Skyranger 30 anti-aircraft turret will be fitted with an upgraded sensor array with the addition of Spexer air defence radars from Hensoldt.

The Skyranger 30 is a mobile ground-based air defence system which can be deployed against air targets at short and very short range as well as ground targets. The Skyranger will now be enhanced with Hensoldt’s Spexer air defence radars as part of its offering to clients.

Rheinmetall is paying Hensoldt almost €100 million (US$108 million) to add it to the Skyranger’s sensor options and the initial orders for the Spexer 2000M are for the German and Austrian armies' systems, with Denmark having announced a corresponding procurement.

The Spexer 2000M 3D MKIII sensor specialises in high detection performance, even while targets are on the move. That ability will help make the Skyranger 30 more effective in its fight against short range threats

The Spexer is already a familiar sensor in Germany’s air defence as it is heavily used in the country's counter-UAS field camp, qualified air defence, the Bundeswehr's new very short and short-range air defence programme (NNbS) and the HoWiSM (high-energy laser for drone defence) programme.

Rheinmetall has done similar deals in recent months to maximise the operational competitiveness of the Skyranger 30. In June, 2024, it signed a Letter of Intent with MBDA to add the company’s small antidrone missile (SADM) to the Skyranger’s arsenal.

As with the Spexer radar, its armaments will be modular, and different versions of the tank will be made available to clients with particular defence needs, so while Skyrangers for the German market will come equipped with Stinger missiles, the multifunctional air defence tank can be fitted with Mistral missiles or the likes of MDBA’s SADM as required.

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