by Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News
It’s a German-built drone killer, an air defense system that Ukraine has deployed in the field and proven that it’s successful.
Earlier this month, Ukraine put into the Rheinmetall-developed Skynex to defend against a swarm of Russian drones and cruise missiles. The military isn’t saying when and where the attack took place – but Ukraine’s Air Force released video showing the Skynex system intercepted at least seven drones.
Overall on the night of July 11-12, Ukraine says it shot down 319 Shahed drones and 25 cruise missiles.
“Shaheds are back in the skies. Our defenders are shooting down a significant number of them,” said Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. But he also warned that Russia is using hundreds of decoy frones in each attack.
Germany introduced Skynex in 2021 as part of its short-range air defense (SHORAD). The system uses the Oerlikon Mk3, the 35mm automatic cannon that can fire up to a thousand rounds per minute with a range of up to 2.5 miles. The ammunition, called AHEAD (Advanced Hit Efficiency and Destruction), is designed to explode systems at a cost of near the target and release a cloud of sub-projectiles.
According to Rheinmetall, AHEAD are easily to evade electronic countermeasures. Plus, according to Ukraine’s United24Media, using the Skynext rounds are estimated per engagement at about $4,600 – which is much cheaper than missile-based defense systems such as IRIS-T, the surface-to-air weapon.
Skynex uses four cannons, a control post and a radar station that can detect targets for up to 30 miles. The German government financed the two Skynex systems at a cost of $211 million and sent them to Ukraine last year.
Ukraine has acquired a number of anti-aircraft systems from several countries, many of them the goal of defending against swarms of Russian drones. Last November, Spain transferred some of its American-made Hawk missiles to Ukraine last weekend.
The medium-range surface-to-air missile, built by Raytheon, was first fielded by the US Army in 1959. It was America’s top of the line air defense weapon until it was replaced by the Patriot in the mid-90s. Compared with more modern systems, the Hawk is relatively simple, highly-mobile and can be upgraded easily. It’s considered effective against slower drones, manned aircraft and cruise missiles. And, according to Forbes, the Hawk missile is compatible with another US-made air defense weapon that Ukraine uses, the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS).
Jim Morris is Warrior Vice President, News. Morris previously worked as an expert executive and writer/producer with Bloomberg TV and ABC News.