Rheinmetall to Supply Four Skynex Gun-Based Air Defence Systems to International Customer
German defence group Rheinmetall has announced a new export contract for four complete Skynex air defence systems. According to Rheinmetall, the customer was not named; the deal is worth several hundred million euros and was booked in the second quarter of 2026. The order is the latest sign of a return to gun-based air defence, which counters cheap drone threats with cannon rounds rather than costly missiles.
At a Glance
| Manufacturer | Rheinmetall (Italia as prime) |
| What | 4 × Skynex gun-based air defence |
| Value | Several hundred million euros |
| Customer | Undisclosed international customer |
| Timeline | 39 months; first battery in 21 |
| Role | C-UAS / C-RAM · 35mm |
Background
Skynex is Rheinmetall’s very-short-range, gun-based air defence system. Each battery pairs 35mm Oerlikon Revolver Gun Mk3 fire units with a sensor and tracking unit and a command-and-control station. Its signature capability is AHEAD programmable ammunition, which forms a cloud of sub-projectiles ahead of the target to defeat small, fast threats.
Skynex has been battle-tested in Ukraine against drones and guided munitions. The system is designed to provide close-in protection against unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS) as well as rockets, artillery and mortar rounds (C-RAM).
Contract Details
The contract covers four complete Skynex systems, trucks, ammunition and a comprehensive Integrated Logistic Support (ILS) package. Total execution runs 39 months; the first battery is to be delivered 21 months after signature, with subsequent batteries following at six-month intervals.
Rheinmetall Italia acts as prime contractor. Within the group, Rheinmetall Air Defence, Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles and Switzerland-based Rheinmetall Weapon and Munitions are all involved in delivery.
The Return of Gun-Based Air Defence
Faced with cheap, saturating drone attacks, NATO and European armies have swung back toward affordable cannon rounds instead of high-cost interceptors. Where an air defence missile can cost millions, downing a drone with programmable 35mm ammunition is incomparably cheaper. The Skynex order is that economic calculus playing out in the field.
Why It Matters for Turkey
The 35mm gun-based short-range capability that Skynex embodies already exists in Turkey’s inventory as an indigenous system. ASELSAN’s KORKUT, with its self-propelled 35mm cannon configuration, is a direct counterpart to Skynex and performs both C-RAM and C-UAS missions. GÜRZ merges gun and missile layers on a single platform, while SUNGUR adds a short-range missile tier and GÖKBERK a laser layer.
All of these work together under the ÇELİK KUBBE (Steel Dome) layered air defence network. Turkey’s advantage is a sovereign architecture that fields gun, missile and laser layers at once, carries no ITAR restrictions and is open for export. Turkish industry has led the gun-based air defence economics that Europe is only now rediscovering, through KORKUT.
Rheinmetall Skynex International Order
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Systems | 4 × Skynex |
| Value | Several hundred million euros |
| Prime | Rheinmetall Italia |
| Weapon | 35mm Oerlikon Revolver Gun Mk3 |
| Ammunition | AHEAD programmable |
| Role | C-UAS / C-RAM |
| Delivery | 39 months (first battery 21) |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Skynex do?
Skynex is a gun-based short-range air defence system that protects against close-in threats such as drones, rockets, artillery and mortar rounds using 35mm cannon fire.
Which country placed the order?
Rheinmetall did not disclose the customer, stating only that it is an international client and that the contract is worth several hundred million euros.
What is Turkey’s equivalent?
ASELSAN’s KORKUT is a direct counterpart with its self-propelled 35mm cannon; GÜRZ and the ÇELİK KUBBE network extend the capability.
Why is gun-based air defence back in demand?
Because answering cheap, massed drone threats with expensive missiles is not economical, programmable cannon rounds have re-emerged as a far more cost-effective defence.
