Italy invests in cutting-edge air defence amid rising threats
The Italians have decided to order the Skynex point defence system from the German company Rheinmetall, which is used, among other places, in Ukraine to defend Kyiv. Here's what it can do.
According to Rheinmetall, the Italians ordered one battery of the system for €73 million with an option for three additional systems worth €204 million. The delivery of the first battery is expected by the second quarter of 2026, and the additional three, if Italy decides to utilise the option, can be ordered in 2027. Besides the systems themselves, the signed agreement also includes ammunition, training and maintenance services, as well as spare parts.
The contract may be partly a result of the successful performance of Skynex in Ukraine, as war is the best possible advertisement and a test of weapon readiness, brutally verifying any errors. The Italians will also be the first NATO country to operate the complete Skynex system because Romania ordered a limited version of Skynex with the older GDF-009 gun, while the Italians will have the system with the Oerlikon Revolver Gun Mk3.
Skynex — a low-cost solution for drones and cruise missiles
The Skynex system is an advancement of the German MANTIS system. It is developed based on the Oerlikon Revolver Gun Mk3 automatic gun with a calibre of 35 mm, characterised by a firing rate of up to 1,000 rounds per minute. It can be fed with sub-calibre armour-piercing ammunition or programmable AHEAD (estimated cost of one round is over €3,000).
The effective operational range of the system is up to 5 kilometres, enabling it to combat various targets, from small drones to cruise missiles, artillery shells, and even bombs with thick steel casings.
The gun is guided to the target using data obtained by radar or an optoelectronic head with a thermal sight and laser rangefinder. Typically, a series of four rounds is sufficient to eliminate a target, costing approximately tens of thousands of euros. Contrary to appearances, this constitutes only a fraction of the price of an anti-aircraft missile, which can cost hundreds of thousands of euros.
The armour-piercing round contains a projectile with a sub-calibre tungsten penetrator (smaller than the gun calibre) capable of piercing over 10 centimetres of armour steel. Meanwhile, the programmable ammunition has 152 tungsten subprojectiles integrated with explosive material - the fuse at the gun's muzzle is set to determine the time until detonation. Sensors at the muzzle check the projectile's muzzle velocity, and radar data (such as target speed or distance) allow precise calculation of the explosion moment of the AHEAD round.
Consequently, just before impact, a "wall" of tungsten fragments is created in the air right in front of the target, easily shredding the bodies of mini-drones and missile or cruise projectile warheads.
The system turret weighs 5,100 kilograms, including 252 rounds, which with four-round bursts is enough to neutralise numerous targets. The system was predominantly known in a stationary version on truck platforms, but its lighter version, the Skyranger 30, with a 30 mm gun, is enjoying greater popularity. However, for Ukraine, a 35 mm variant mounted on the Leopard 1A5 tank chassis was developed, as reported by Wirtualna Polska journalist Łukasz Michalik.
