Skynex systems will soon be delivered to Ukraine to protect against Russian UAVs

According to Ukrainian military officials, invading Russian forces launch hundreds of Shaheds each month to destroy Ukraine. The majority of them were shot down by the Ukrainian Air Defense Forces, which were equipped with contemporary Western assisted defense systems. However, only a small portion of the population achieves the objectives. 

Ukrainians use several air defense systems to protect its sky, such as Patriot, Nasams, Iris-T, soviet era systems and small air defense groups with searchlights and machine guns. Among others, there is one specific system that combines two essential parameters: effectiveness and low price for usage.

Rheinmetall said that it would supply Ukraine with two Skynex air defense systems outfitted with programmable 35mm Ahead ammunition by the end of 2023. It informed about this decision on its official website.

How it works and what it costs

According to the Rheinmetall press office, the success of the Gepard anti-aircraft tank in Ukraine demonstrates the effectiveness of cannon-based air defense, particularly against cruise missiles and drones. 

Skynex is a cannon-based system, which is one of the greatest alternatives for countering Russia's military drone attacks. Its range of 4 km allows it to cover the sky over large infrastructure facilities. Using programmable 35mm Ahead ammunition, developed by Rheinmetall precisely for this purpose, the system destroys each target it can reach with almost a 100 % probability.

Even more significant, the average cost of destroying a Skynex drone is around 4,000 EUR, whilst the cost of Shahed is around 50,000 EUR.  

As the first country in the world to be equipped with Skynex for actual combat operations, it is critical for the system to pass testing and demonstrate its usefulness. If any flaws in the system are discovered, they can be rapidly addressed and corrected, making the system more efficient in the future.