Skynex

Germany’s modular, gun-based short-range air defence system — built around the 35 mm Oerlikon Revolver Gun Mk3 and the Skymaster battle-management C2, designed to defeat drone swarms, loitering munitions and cruise missiles with cost-effective AHEAD airburst ammunition.

Overview

Skynex is the latest short-range/very-short-range air defence (SHORAD/VSHORAD) family from Rheinmetall Air Defence, drawing on the Oerlikon 35 mm lineage. It provides point protection for critical infrastructure, airfields and key nodes against the mass-drone and saturation-attack threats that have defined the war in Ukraine. The system separates airspace surveillance from effectors, letting autonomous 35 mm revolver guns — optionally supplemented by twin-gun mounts and mini-missiles — engage targets with programmable AHEAD airburst rounds that are immune to electronic warfare. Four German-financed batteries have been fighting in Ukraine since early 2024, and Italy became the first NATO operator in late 2025.

Development

Skynex was introduced in 2021 as the latest evolution of the Oerlikon/Rheinmetall Zurich 35 mm air-defence line, according to Rheinmetall. It builds on the widely-fielded Skyguard and Skyshield systems, taking the enabling 35 mm AHEAD (Advanced Hit Efficiency And Destruction) programmable airburst technology and placing it inside a fully networked, sensor-effector-separated architecture. Germany financed the first two systems for Ukraine in late 2022, and those batteries arrived in-country in early 2024, giving Skynex its first operational exposure SKNX-8. Combat footage and manufacturer-reported kills from 2024-25 accelerated export interest, leading to contracts with Austria, Romania, Qatar and, in January 2025, a breakthrough order from Italy — the system’s first NATO customer SKNX-2.

Design & capabilities

The core of Skynex is the Oerlikon Revolver Gun Mk3, a 35 mm revolver cannon firing 1,000 rounds per minute of AHEAD/KETF ammunition. Each round is programmed at the muzzle to eject a cloud of tungsten sub-projectiles at the precise intercept point, saturating a kill volume instead of relying on a direct hit. Because there is no seeker or datalink, the ammunition is resistant to electronic countermeasures — a point repeatedly stressed by Rheinmetall.

The architecture separates the acquisition sensor layer from the effectors through the Oerlikon Skymaster battle-management C2. A battery typically combines an X-TAR3D X-band 3D radar (instrumented ranges of 25/35/50 km) with four containerized Mk3 guns, each carrying its own integrated X-band tracking radar and electro-optical sensor for autonomous engagement Rheinmetall. The Skymaster can also incorporate third-party radars, legacy Skyguard/Skyshield guns, the Halcon SkyKnight C-RAM mini-missile (range ~10 km), and — in future — high-energy lasers, making the system scalable against saturation swarms. The guns are relocatable on any adequate 6×6 truck, giving them the semi-static mobility needed for site defence, while the true mobile variant, Skyranger 35, mounts the same-family KDG 35/1,000 revolver cannon on an armoured hull.

Variants

The Skynex family is defined by interchangeable sensor-effector mixes rather than separate designations. Common configurations include: - Mk3 gun battery — four containerized Oerlikon Revolver Gun Mk3 mounts with integral radar/EO sensor, integrated by Skymaster and an X-TAR3D radar (used by Ukraine and Italy). - Twin-gun configuration — pairs of Oerlikon Twin Gun GDF009 TREO mounts on a trailer carriage, selected by Romania. - Missile-augmented — adds Halcon SkyKnight mini-missile launchers for ranges beyond the ~4 km gun envelope. - Self-propelled derivative — the Skyranger 35, which places the revolver cannon on Leopard 1, Boxer or Lynx chassis for manoeuvre-force air defence.

Combat record / operational use

All combat experience with Skynex comes from Ukraine, the system’s sole operational theatre to date. The two German-financed systems delivered in early 2024 were the world’s first deployed Skynex batteries SKNX-8. Ukraine’s Air Force released the first engagement footage on 12 July 2025, showing the guns destroying at least seven Shahed-type one-way attack drones with single short AHEAD bursts in a single night, as reported by Euromaidan Press and United24 Media. During a later August 2025 raid, news-agency descriptions credited Skynex with intercepting 42 Shaheds and 11 cruise missiles. At Rheinmetall’s Q3 2025 results, CEO Armin Papperger asserted that the system had also downed Kh-101 air-launched and Kalibr sea-launched cruise missiles — a claim Defense Express judged technically plausible given earlier Gepard success against similar targets.

Germany completed delivery of all four financed systems (~16 guns) by mid-November 2025 The Defense Watch. These are operated largely by the Ukrainian Air Force’s Air Command West to protect power infrastructure and airfields. The self-propelled Skyranger 35, sharing the same 35 mm/AHEAD ecosystem, was ordered for Ukraine in October 2025 and the first vehicles were handed over in late November 2025 Rheinmetall.

Advantages

• Decisive cost-per-kill economics: ~€4,000 (est.) per AHEAD engagement, compared to six- to seven-figure missile interceptors, preserves scarce guided missiles for harder threats Defense Express.
• Electronic warfare resilience: The AHEAD airburst round has no seeker or datalink; it cannot be jammed, spoofed or seduced.
• Autonomous, saturation-ready architecture: Each gun carries its own tracking radar and electro-optical sensor, allowing a four-gun battery to engage multiple targets simultaneously without a centrally directed fire order Rheinmetall.
• Open, modular design: Skymaster C2 permits third-party radars, legacy gun systems, mini-missiles and future lasers on a single network.
• Ammunition commonality: 35 mm AHEAD rounds are compatible with the existing Gepard fleet used by Ukraine, and Rheinmetall is scaling production to meet war demand.

Drawbacks / limitations

• Short reach: The ~4 km gun envelope (altitude ~3.0-3.5 km) limits the system to terminal point defence; anything flying higher or farther requires a missile layer.
• Semi-static footprint: Containerized guns are relocatable but not self-propelled, restricting Skynex to site protection rather than mobile force air defence (the role of Skyranger 35).
• High system cost for a gun system: ~€60M per battery (Italy’s pilot system cost €73M including ammunition and spares Breaking Defense), and specialised 35 mm ammunition remains expensive — Rheinmetall ammunition orders for Ukraine run into the low-three-digit millions of euros.
• Limited deployed numbers: Ukraine’s four systems (~16 guns) cover only a handful of sites against nightly attacks that often involve hundreds of drones.

Counterparts

• Flakpanzer Gepard (Germany)
• Pantsir-S1 (Russia)

Outlook

Rheinmetall is positioning the Skynex/Skyranger family as NATO’s standard answer to the Shahed-era cost-exchange problem, backed by a 2030 roadmap that includes AHEAD production expansion in Várpalota, Hungary, and the integration of directed-energy weapons Rheinmetall. Italy’s option for three additional batteries may be exercised by 2027, and the Ukrainian combat record — drones plus cruise missiles at four-figure per-engagement costs — is driving concrete C-UAS programs across Europe. The open questions are ammunition sustainment at war-scale volumes and how quickly the SkyKnight missile and laser layers mature to close the gap above the 4 km gun envelope.

Key specifications

Sources

1. Rheinmetall — Skynex: Networked air defence (product page). https://www.rheinmetall.com/en/products/air-defence-systems/networked-air-defence-skynex
2. Rheinmetall — Breakthrough in air defence: Rheinmetall successful with Skynex in Italy. https://www.rheinmetall.com/en/media/news-watch/news/2025/01/2025-01-15-italy-orders-skynex-air-defence-system
3. Breaking Defense — Italy sets up $289 million Skynex air defense deal with Rheinmetall. https://breakingdefense.com/2025/01/italy-sets-up-289-million-skynex-air-defense-deal-with-rheinmetall/
4. Defense Express — How Much Rheinmetall's Skynex and Skyranger Air-Defense Systems Cost and What Ukraine Is Getting. https://en.defence-ua.com/industries/how_much_rheinmetalls_skynex_and_skyranger_air_defense_systems_cost_and_what_ukraine_is_getting-16543.html
5. Euromaidan Press — Rheinmetall's Skynex guns now used to wipe out Russian Shaheds from Ukrainian skies. https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/07/13/rheinmetalls-skynex-guns-now-used-to-wipe-out-russian-shaheds-from-ukrainian-skies-video-shows-flawless-kills/
6. Defense Express — Rheinmetall's Skynex in Ukraine Proves Effective Not Only Against Shahed Drones but Also Against Kh-101 and Kalibr Missiles. https://en.defence-ua.com/news/rheinmetalls_skynex_in_ukraine_proves_effective_not_only_against_shahed_drones_but_also_against_kh_101_and_kalibr_missiles-16405.html
7. The Defense Watch — Germany Completes Delivery of All Skynex Air Defense Systems to Ukraine. https://thedefensewatch.com/global-news/germany-completes-delivery-of-all-skynex-air-defense-systems-to-ukraine/
8. United24 Media — Germany's Drone Killer in Action: Ukraine Deploys Skynex to Destroy 7 Russian Shaheds Overnight. https://united24media.com/latest-news/germanys-drone-killer-in-action-ukraine-deploys-skynex-to-destroy-7-russian-shaheds-overnight-9842
9. Rheinmetall — Rheinmetall to supply Leopard 1 Skyranger 35 to Ukraine. https://www.rheinmetall.com/en/media/news-watch/news/2025/10/2025-10-10-rheinmetall-skyranger-35-ukraine
10. EDR Magazine — Cutting-edge drone defence technology: Italy receives its first Skynex air defence system from Rheinmetall. https://www.edrmagazine.eu/cutting-edge-drone-defence-technology-italy-receives-its-first-skynex-air-defence-system-from-rheinmetall