Germany and Austria Place Orders For Rheinmetall’s Skyranger 30 Air Defense System
Germany and Austria have placed orders for vehicle-mounted versions of Rheinmetall’s Skyranger 30 air defense system, making them the first customers for the 30mm cannon version of the short-range air defense system.
Austria became the first confirmed customer of the Skyranger 30 with its order of 36 turrets announced on February 23, with Rheinmetall describing the value of the Austrian order in the “mid-three-digit million-euro range”.
Deliveries for the Austrian order will begin in 2026, with Rheinmetall supplying a specialized lightweight version of the Skyranger 30 that will be installed on the Austrian Army’s 6×6 Pandur EVO armored fighting vehicles. The Austrian version of the Skyranger 30 also will be equipped with Mistral surface-to-air missiles, complementing the 30mm KCE revolver cannon.
Rheinmetall announced on February 27 that the German Bundeswehr is the second customer for the system, with a €595 million (value added tax included) contract for a prototype turret and 18 production turrets. The prototype turret is to be delivered by the end of this year, with the contract also including an option for an additional 30 turrets.
The German version of the Skyranger 30 will be equipped with Stinger surface-to-air missiles, with the production turrets to be integrated on the Bundeswehr’s Boxer armored fighting vehicles.
Rheinmetall describes the German version of the Skyranger 30 as an “essential” part of the Nah- und Nächstbereichsschutz (NNbS, or Short- and Very Short-Range) air defense system, which Rheinmentall is jointly developing with Diehl Defence and Hensoldt.
The company expects to sign a contract with Hungary to integrate Skyranger 30 for a future air defense variant of the KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle, after an initial development contract awarded in December is completed. Rheinmetall says that Lithuania is also studying the Boxer-mounted Skyranger 30, while Denmark plans to procure a version of Skyranger 30 integrated on another, unnamed vehicle “soon”.