Germany’s Rheinmetall to Deliver Skyranger Air-Defense Systems to Ukraine by End of 2025

Germany’s Rheinmetall has confirmed that it will deliver Skyranger short-range air-defense systems to Ukraine before the end of 2025. The contract, worth several hundred million dollars, is scheduled to be signed on September 10 at the Defense and Security Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition in London, Rheinmetall chief executive Armin Papperger said.

Papperger stressed the urgency of bolstering Ukraine’s defenses against waves of drone attacks. “Each of these systems can cover an area of four by four kilometers to be completely drone-free,” he told ZDF. He added, “We will supply our Skyranger systems this year already,” underlining that deliveries will begin shortly after the contract is finalized.

The Skyranger system is a mobile platform that can be mounted on tracked or wheeled vehicles, including Leopard tanks. Each unit secures up to 16 square kilometers of airspace, with the ability to intercept drones, helicopters, and low-flying aircraft. The system is also being considered for future use by the German military.

The announcement comes as Ukraine faces some of the heaviest aerial bombardments since the start of the full-scale war in 2022. Drone swarms have increasingly targeted Ukraine’s power grid and industrial facilities, forcing Kyiv to seek additional layers of short-range protection.

Rheinmetall has recently expanded its production capacity to support Ukraine and European allies. On August 27, the company opened Europe’s largest artillery shell plant near Hanover, designed to produce up to 350,000 rounds annually by 2027.

Earlier, it was reported that Rheinmetall demonstrated a version of the Skyranger 35 system mounted on a Leopard 1 chassis—an unmanned turret with a 252-round capacity and up to 4 km firing range—aimed at enhancing Ukraine’s air defense capabilities.

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