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.

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