AUSA 2023: Rheinmetall Combines Skyranger 30 Turret with Textron Ripsaw M5

Rheinmetall strengthened its mobile counter-uncrewed aerial system (C-UAS) credentials at this year’s Association of the US Army annual symposium, held in Washington, DC, from 9-11 October, by showcasing its Skyranger 30 air defence turret mounted on a Textron Systems Ripsaw M5 robotic combat vehicle (RCV).

“The use of best-in-class cannon systems means that Skyranger can stand its ground against swarming attacks,” Rheinmetall stated in a 9 October press release. “Together with Textron’s M5, Skyranger can be deployed alongside ground forces or used for stationary vital-asset protection. The Skyranger can protect mobile units on the march or critical fixed infrastructure and facilities from loiter, pop-up and dive attacks.”

Rheinmetall Skyranger 30 turret couples 360° air and ground surveillance with an autonomous 30 mm Oerlikon Revolver Gun, Oerlikon AHEAD airburst ammunition and short-range air defence missiles such as the FIM-92 Stinger or Mistral. The 30 mm revolver gun has a rate of fire of 1,250 rounds per minute, which, combined with the dynamically programmed AHEAD airburst ammunition, enhances the probability of hitting even the smallest micro- and nano- unmanned aerial vehicles.

The Skyranger system can independently generate its own local air picture, while its open-architecture command-and-control system (Skymaster), IFF and datalink can be seamlessly integrated into higher-echelon systems such as Northrop Grumman’s Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control (FAAD C2) system.

Rheinmetall noted in its press release that the Skyranger system is also available as a 35 mm variant, asserting that the Skyranger family “offers the most modern mobile defence against an array of current and future battlefield air threats”.