The German military is reportedly planning to purchase over 600 Skyranger short-range anti-drone systems as drone threats from Russia grow.
The Skyranger, made by German arms maker Rheinmetall, is a “mobile ground-based air defense (GBAD) system which can be deployed against air targets at short and very short range and against ground targets,” according to Rheinmetall.
German outlet Handelsblatt, citing its own sources, reported on Friday that the planned order from Berlin costs over €9 billion ($10 billion) with delivery set for 2030.
According to Rheinmetall’s brochure, the Skyranger can be fitted with either a 35x228mm cannon with an effective range up to 4,000 m (2.5 miles), or a 30x173mm cannon with an effective range up to 3,000 m (1.9 miles).
The 30mm turret can also carry short-range air-defense missiles, giving the system flexible coverage across close and short-range threats.
Drone expert Philipp Bohne told Handelsblatt that “no German airport is currently protected against drones,” noting that “a drone the size of four soccer balls can easily slip through,” which made the Skyranger, a mobile system designed to intercept small targets, an ideal choice for Germany as drone threats loom.
According to DW News, Berlin has already ordered 19 Skyranger systems after Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced plans to purchase several hundred more in the coming months.
DW News also noted that Ukraine is set to receive the Skyrangers this year, marking the second time that modern German air defense enters service with Ukraine before Germany itself.
The update came shortly after the Munich airport reported unidentified drone sightings that led to flight cancellations, with the German police later authorized to shoot down drones in cases of “acute threat or serious harm.”
The Munich incident followed a series of drone sightings across Europe that started with an unprecedented 19-drone incursion into Poland that prompted a historic NATO aerial response.
After that, unidentified drones were also found in Denmark and Norway, disrupting flights in both nations. More drone sightings were reported over Denmark’s largest military base and near Norway’s F-35 base.
Europe believes Moscow is behind the incidents, but the Kremlin denies any involvement.
Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former prime minister who now serves as the deputy chairman of the country’s Security Council, commented on the sightings by first saying it “does not matter who launches these drones” before adding that “narrow-minded Europeans feel on their own skin what the danger of war is.”