Ukraine conflict: Skynex air-defence system to be delivered to Kyiv by…

Rheinmetall will supply Ukraine with two Skynex air-defence systems at the beginning of 2024, Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper reported on 9 December 2022. (Rheinmetall)

Ukraine will receive two Skynex short- and very-short-range air-defence systems by the end of 2023, Rheinmetall announced. The company included the system in a list of equipment it said it was supplying to Kyiv at the end of a press release published on 27 June announcing that the Netherlands has ordered 14 Leopard 2A4 tanks that it and Denmark are procuring for Ukraine.

Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper reported on 9 December 2022 that Rheinmetall would supply Skynex to Ukraine, citing German government officials. The report came after Rheinmetall announced in a press release earlier the same day that it would supply an international customer with two Skynex systems at the beginning of 2024. Each system comprises four Revolver Gun Mk 3s, a CN-1 control node, and an X-TAR3D target acquisition and tracking radar.

At that time, Rheinmetall declined to confirm to Janes that Ukraine was the customer, citing contractual reasons.

Rheinmetall valued the delivery at EUR182 million (USD199.17 million), plus approximately EUR12 million for HX trucks to be supplied with the Skynex systems.

The Skynex automatic gun-based system is designed to provide very-short-range air defence, for which guided missiles are ineffective, and the advanced hit efficiency and destruction (AHEAD) 35 mm programmable rounds fired by its Revolver Gun Mk 3 are less expensive than comparable guided missile-based systems and cannot be interfered with or jammed by electronic countermeasures when fired, according to Rheinmetall.