The Danish Ministry of Defence’s Material and Procurement Agency (FMI) and Rheinmetall Air Defence signed a contract on 27 September 2024 for the procurement of 16 Skyranger 30 turrets and associated airburst ammunition, the FMI has announced.
Initially, four initial/prototype turrets are to be manufactured and delivered at the end of 2026, followed by three series production runs of four turrets in 2027 and 2028.
The Danish Skyranger 30s are to be integrated onto Piranha V 8×8 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), according to a photograph that the FMI attached to its press release. The photo shows the Skyranger 30 system on a Piranha V, which was shown without comment at the Rheinmetall Skyranger System Demonstration Days on 18/19 September 2024 at the company’s Ochsenboden proving ground in Switzerland.
It remains unclear froom the FMI press release who will carry out the integration. Furthermore, a decision on what surface-to-air missile (SAM) the system will employ has not yet been made. In Switzerland Rheinmetall presented the Stinger FIM-92 and Mistral 3 as possible SAMs. According to available information, the latter could be considered for Denmark.
Lieutenant General Per Pughom Olsen, the chief of the FMI, was quoted as saying, “The conclusion of the contract is an important step towards the development of the brigade’s air defence, which in turn is an essential part of the brigade’s full operational capability. The choice of the Skyranger turret and its automatic cannon was made in close c-ooperation with our colleagues in Defence Command.”
The Royal Danish Army has two brigades.
The entire air defence system must also include radar, operations centre and communication systems, the FMI noted. Danish company Terma is responsible for the integration of all these elements into a uniform air defence system.
After Austria (36 systems on Pandur Evo vehicles) and Germany (19 systems on Boxer vehicles), Denmark will be the third Skyranger 30 user with 16 systems on Piranha Vs. It will be followed by Hungary with 18 systems on Lynx KF 41 IFVs and possibly the Netherlands with 32 systems on Armoured Combat Support Vehicles.
The primary effector of the Skyranger 30 system is the 30 mm x 173 mm Oerlikon KCE turreted gun, which, according to the FMI, can be used as a high-velocity gun together with the missile system to combat aircraft, helicopters and umanned aerial vehicles.
