Skynex
The complex requirements imposed on short- and very short-range air defence have become much more complex in recent years. Both quantitatively and qualitatively, the air threat continues to mutate and multiply. Increasingly, the emphasis is on unmanned air vehicles and precision guided munitions that are smaller, faster and more agile than ever: only the most sophisticated air defence
Rheinmetall is one of the world's foremost makers of advanced air defence systems. The company leads the global market in automatic cannon-based air defence, and is the sole system supplier able to offer fire control technology, automatic cannon, integrated guided missiles and Ahead airburst ammunition.systems can stop them. Today, civil infrastructure needs to be defended too, particularly from terrorist attacks.
Relying on automatic cannon-based air defence, Skynex lends itself especially well to very short-range contexts where guided missiles are ineffective. Moreover, the use of programmable 35mm Ahead ammunition, as developed by Rheinmetall for this purpose, is significantly less expensive than comparable guided missile-based systems. Equally important: 35mm ammunition cannot be influenced much less jammed by electronic countermeasures when fired. The success of the self-propelled Flakpanzer Gepard antiaircraft system in Ukraine underscores the effectiveness of 35mm gun-based air defence against aerial targets, especially cruise missiles and drones.
The Oerlikon Skynex, the Rheinmetall Group’s ground-based, fully networked, future air defence system first presented at Eurosatory 2016. It features open, modular architecture, forging a wide array of sensors and effectors into a highly effective, extensively automated system. Centralized and decentralized operation and command are equally possible, and the system can be configured for either a tactical or operational role. Highly mobile, the Oerlikon Skynex is ready for action in very short order. This makes it ideal for defending sensitive infrastructure and areas from virtually every form of aerial threat, both symmetric and asymmetric – around the clock and in all weathers. It instantly detects incoming rockets and artillery and mortar (RAM) rounds and even very small drones, engaging them with scalable intensity.
The core element of Skynex is the Oerlikon Skymaster command system, which stays in contact with other subsystems via a tactical communications network. This means that Rheinmetall can integrate assets such as Skyshield or Skyguard fire units, guided missile launchers or even high-energy laser (HEL) effectors into the system. The Skynex configuration on show at IDEX 2017 features a Skyshield sensor unit, the Oerlikon Revolver Gun Mk3, a Cheetah guided missile launcher and an HEL effector. Remotely operated and network-capable, the Oerlikon Revolver Gun Mk3 can be equipped with tracking sensor units such as an X-band radar as well as electro-optical sensors and electronic warfare components. This assures fast, autonomous processing of externally assigned targets.
The advanced Skynex air defence system is based on a concept that keeps airspace surveillance separate from the effectors. Owing to this modularity, and depending on the mission, the necessary assets can be linked to the command-and-control network. The system enables integration of radar equipment from various manufacturers. Skynex also offers great freedom with respect to effectors, enabling integration of many different advanced air defence weapons into the system. Having its own tracking unit is the sole prerequisite. Besides individual sensors and effectors, existing air defence systems like the Skyshield and Skyguard families can be built into the new architecture as fire units. In a remotely located command and weapon engagement centre, the recognized air situation is depicted on a map together with the sensors and effectors positioned in the field, thus simplifying allocation of targets to air defence assets connected to the system.
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