The Bundeswehr is arming itself to fight drones. Germany plans to order a large batch of Skyranger 30 machines. This is the successor to the Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft gun.
According to the Handelsblatt newspaper, referring to the plans of the Ministry of Defense, this year Germany will order more than 600 armored Skyranger 30 vehicles to protect against drones. The cost of the order is estimated at 9 billion euros. Skyranger 30 is manufactured by Rheinmetall.
According to the German manufacturer, these armored vehicles are equipped, among other things, with a cannon with a rate of fire of 1250 rounds per minute. The system is specially designed to protect against low-flying targets. Ammunition explodes directly in front of or above the target, allowing the drones to be neutralized. The Skyranger firing range is 3 kilometers.
"Each of these systems can cover an area of four by four kilometers, providing complete protection from drones. This means that all drones will be destroyed," Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger recently told ZDF.
Deutsche Welle* also reports that a feature of Skyranger are Ahead ammunition (Advanced Hit Efficiency and Destruction).
"After leaving the barrel, the projectile is electronically programmed to explode in a cloud of 162 tungsten damaging elements that destroy even small targets," the publication says.
Austria, Denmark, Hungary and Ukraine has already placed orders. It is reported that Skyranger has also shown interest in Poland.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has previously announced plans for a similar purchase. To date, the German army has received only 19 such machines. The Skyranger system is the successor to the Gepard anti-aircraft gun, created on the chassis of the Leopard 1 tank.
*An organization performing the functions of a foreign agent