- Category
- Latest news
Ukraine to Receive Skyranger Air-Defense Systems Funded With “Hundreds of Millions” of Seized Russian Assets
- Authors
![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
Germany’s Rheinmetall stated that Ukraine will receive Skyranger 35 short-range air-defense systems mounted on Leopard 1 chassis, with the purchase to be financed by an EU member state using frozen Russian assets, the company announced on October 10.
German arms manufacturer said the deal is worth “hundreds of millions of euros,” though it did not publish a precise price.
“We are grateful for the confidence Ukraine has shown in us,” Rheinmetall AG CEO Armin Papperger said. “We also thank the EU state for its support, which underlines our continued efforts to support Ukraine.”
Rheinmetall said production and system integration will be handled by Rheinmetall Italia SpA in Italy. The tracked Skyranger 35 pairs the mobility and protection of a tracked platform with a highly automated, gun-based air-defense module intended to counter small, fast aerial threats.
The Skyranger 35 mounts a GDM-008 35 mm automatic cannon with a rated cyclic rate of fire of about 1,000 rounds per minute. The onboard ammunition load is 252 rounds and includes programmable airburst projectiles intended to defeat swarms, reconnaissance drones, and other small airborne targets.
Rheinmetall lists an effective air-target engagement range of roughly 4,000 meters; the system can also be employed against selected ground targets when required.
Sensor and counter-UAS packages include the AMMR multi-role S-band radar—five antennas provide 360-degree coverage—and the passive FIRST target-acquisition system to improve detection of small, low-observable threats.
The company said the combination of high-energy mechanical fire, programmable 35 mm rounds, and integrated sensors makes the Skyranger 35 particularly suited to intercepting modern reconnaissance and strike drones.
The new Skyranger 35 system is envisioned as a modern alternative to the aging Flakpanzer Gepard, originally adopted in 1976.
Earlier, reports emerged that Ukraine’s defense industry, working in cooperation with European partners, had mastered the repair of Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft systems.
-29ed98e0f248ee005bb84bfbf7f30adf.jpg)
