Rheinmetall picks up AHEAD ammo contract for a ‘European Skynex user’

A European customer country has commissioned Rheinmetall to supply 35 mm AHEAD (Advanced Hit Efficiency And Destruction) programmable ammunition for the Skynex air defence system, the company announced on 28 May 2024, while declining to name the client.

The Skynex system has been supplied to Ukraine, which is in urgent need of bolstering its air defence capabilities, and has also been ordered by Austria and Romania.

The total value of the order is in the low three-digit-million-euro range, Rheinmetall stated, adding that a six-digit number of cartridges will be manufactured.

“This new order once again underlines Rheinmetall’s leading technological position in the development and production of highly efficient ammunition for air defence in Europe,” the company declared in a press release.

The Skynex system is Rheinmetall’s latest solution for cannon-based short-range air defence and is particularly suitable for close-range protection where guided weapons cannot be effective. Using an open architecture, Skynex allows various sensors and effectors to be linked in a modular way in order to fit mission requirements, while the Oerlikon Skymaster battle management system provides the control node and centrepiece of the system.

The use of programmable 35 mm AHEAD ammunition, as developed by Rheinmetall for this purpose, is considerably cheaper than comparable guided missile-based systems. In addition, it is not possible to influence or even deflect the 35 mm ammunition through the use of electronic countermeasures.