At ILA Berlin 2026, German defence group Rheinmetall AG is putting its Skyranger 30 mobile air-defence system at the centre of its display, pairing the 30mm revolver-cannon turret on the Boxer 8x8 with MBDA's new DefendAir guided missile to counter modern close-range drone and missile threats. The system, Rheinmetall said in a June 10 release, is becoming the de-facto European standard short-range air-defence (SHORAD) platform.
From Bundeswehr launch order to a continent-wide rollout
The Skyranger 30 user base is growing fast. The German Bundeswehr has ordered 19 Skyranger 30 vehicles on the Boxer platform, with a prototype already delivered. Austria has signed for 36 systems integrated on its GDELS Pandur EVO chassis in a mid-triple-digit-million euro deal. The Netherlands followed in December 2025 with a multi-hundred-million euro contract for mobile and forward-deployed operations, and Romania is taking a heavier Skyranger 35 variant on the Lynx tracked vehicle inside a €5.7 billion modernisation package. Denmark has also signalled an intent to procure, and a tranche is earmarked for Ukraine.
Inside the turret: cannon, airburst rounds, sensors and now SHORAD missiles
The Skyranger 30 combines a 30mmx173 KCE revolver cannon with an effective range of up to 3,000 m, programmable airburst Ahead munitions optimised against micro-drones, and a modular missile mount that now carries MBDA's DefendAir for longer engagements. An integrated search radar and electro-optical sensors give the turret an autonomous 360-degree air picture; it can also slot into networked C-UAS architectures. Rheinmetall is positioning the system as the answer to drone and loitering-munition saturation attacks of the kind that have dominated the war in Ukraine.
Building capacity for the European Sky Shield
The Skyranger has been adopted as a core component of the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI). To meet that demand, Rheinmetall is ramping turret production from the current 70-100 units per year to up to 400 per year. The platform's modular architecture lets it ride on the Boxer 8x8, Lynx KF41 tracked chassis or commercial truck chassis depending on customer doctrine.
For wider ILA Berlin 2026 coverage, see Airbus's U760 Ravenstorm UCCA, Helsing's CA-1EA electronic-attack drone and the Spire-Diehl missile-warning MoU.
Reporting based on Rheinmetall's June 10 ILA Berlin press release and follow-up coverage in defence-industry.eu and Defence Star.