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”.
![Following the decommissioning of the Air Defence Anti-Tank System (ADATS) in 2011, the Canadian Army spent 13 years without any GBAD assets until receiving its first RBS 70 NG systems in 2024. While Canada is an extreme example, Ottawa was not alone in a trend that saw many downsize and even eliminate GBAD. [Canadian Army]](https://euro-sd.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Canadian-RBS-70-NG-Kopie-218x150.jpg "Assessing air defence requirements for ground formations on the modern battlefield")
