On 18 September 2024, on the opening day of the 2024 Rheinmetall Skyranger System Demonstration Days held at the company’s Ochsenboden range in Switzerland, the Skyranger 35 air defence system was presented to the public for the first time on the chassis of a Leopard 1 main battle tank.
The Skyranger 35 is, so to speak, the forefather of the Skyranger family, from which the Skyranger 30 was developed to accommodate an additional missile. The Skyranger turret was revised and optimised again for the demonstrator. The tried-and-tested Skyranger 35 components and some new ones were integrated into the new turret design. The turret weight of around four tonnes is of the same order of magnitude as the Skyranger 30, meaning that the Skyranger 35 turret can be integrated on the same carrier vehicles but without an additional missile.
Sensors
The main sensor is the Oerlikon AMMR (Multi-Mission Radar) system with four active electronically scanned-array (AESA) antennas, each covering a 90° horizontal angle. The Oerlikon AMMR, which is fully software defined, is designed for stationary or mobile operation under the most difficult environmental and interference conditions and is equipped with the latest electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM) functions. Thanks to adaptive, fully digital beamforming techniques in the S-band, the Oerlikon AMMR automatically detects, classifies and tracks the entire spectrum of air threats, such as mini- and micro-unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), rocket and mortar (RAM) threats attacking from steep angles as well as air-to-ground weapons and cruise missiles.
A Ku-band tracking radar in conjunction with an electro-optical unit consisting of daylight and infrared cameras as well as laser rangefinders for air and ground targets with different viewing angles is used for target tracking.
Effector and ammunition
The effector is the 35 mm Oerlikon KDG revolver cannon, which can fire at ranges of up to 4 km. The typical rate of fire is 1,000 rounds per minute, but in rapid single-shot mode 200 rounds can be fired per minute. The 35 x 228 mm Advanced Hit Efficiency and Destruction (AHEAD) ammunition – airburst rounds featuring 152 tungsten subprojectiles – was developed for the Skyranger 35. Ammunition types with more sub-projectiles and the same weight are available or are being developed. Such ammunition can be fired mixed due to the rounds having the same ballistic properties. The ammunition supply in the turret is 252 rounds.
The AHEAD ammunition can be used with a programmed airburst point. The exit velocity of the projectile is measured at the muzzle and the flight time calculated from the target distance is programmed into the projectile. The ammunition then disintegrates close to the target and releases the subprojectiles, which then form a deadly cloud in which targets such as UAVs, artillery rounds or missiles are reliably destroyed. When used against armoured ground targets such as tanks, the cloud of subprojectiles can destroy optics and sensors and thus create a mission kill.
Skymaster
The Skyranger 35 system is controlled by the Skymaster command and fire control software, which provides the interfaces for communication with the sensors and effectors as well as within the weapon system and externally in tactical networks. The commander conducts the firefight in accordance with the rules of engagement and the current orders. He alone decides when to fire, even if target recognition and threat assessment through to the engagement proposal are largely automated.
Leopard 1 carrier vehicle
Rheinmetall has integrated the Skyranger 35 turret onto a Leopard 1 chassis for the first time. As the turret is unmanned, the commander and gunner had to be accommodated to the left of the driver in the hull. These crew members enter the vehicle through another hatch at the front of the tank. By selecting the Leopard 1 as the carrier, Rheinmetall wants to show, among other things, that the Skyranger is system vehicle independent and can be integrated into almost any carrier vehicle.
The Skyranger 35 demonstrated its capabilities at the second attempt during the Skyranger System Demonstration Days. The first task was to combat a ‘kamikaze drone’ attacking in a dive. Although the system detected and tracked the UAV, no shot was fired because an additional component failed. As this component in the demonstrator had not yet been included in the internal test system, troubleshooting took time. Once the fault had been rectified, the chain of action in the Skyranger 35 worked like clockwork. The flight target, an object modelled on an Iranian UAV, was destroyed in line with the threat. The ground target that was subsequently engaged was also rendered harmless as planned.
Customers
Rheinmetall does not yet have any customers for the Skyranger 35, although there is considerable interest. The combination could be suitable for supporting Ukraine because the Leopard 1 could be used as a cost-effective and quickly available carrier. At the British Army’s 2024 Defence Vehicles Dynamics event, held at UVAC Millbrook in Bedfordshire on 18-19 September, the company exhibited a Skyranger 35 on a Boxer multi-role armoured vehicle chassis as a contender for the British Army’s future air defence requirements.
