On Wednesday, 5 November 2025, the German Federal Ministry of Defence announced that on the same day the Bundestag’s Budget Committee (Haushaltsausschuss) had approved 14 procurement requests with a total value of 1.9 billion EUR.
The Oerlikon Skyranger 30 air-defense gun-missile system on a GTK Boxer chassis / Photo: Rheinmetall AG
The ministry emphasized in its press release that in October it had approved 18 requests worth more than 14 billion EUR.
List of projects approved in November:
- Awarding a contract to the state-owned company BWI GmbH to expand technical and logistical services within IT support for various programs, e.g., the D-LBO (Digitalisation of Land-Based Operations) battlefield management system;
- Procurement of P13 pistols from the Czech company Česká Zbrojovka (CZ), which will replace the currently used P8 (Heckler & Koch USP);
- Procurement of palletized medical evacuation equipment for transporting patients aboard military transport aircraft;
- Development, production, and delivery of MBDA DefendAir air-defense missiles integrated with the Oerlikon Skyranger 30 gun-missile system mounted on the GTK Boxer chassis;
- Procurement of medium-range thermal weapon sights for infantry soldiers;
- Procurement of mobile field kitchens for storing, preparing, and distributing food;
- Procurement of manpack multiband radios with accessories;
- Procurement of modular roll-off containers with firefighting equipment;
- Procurement of a second supplementary batch of RIM-116E RAM (Rolling Airframe Missile) Block 2 air-defense missiles;
- A development contract to address aging-related issues affecting the servo control unit of the RIM-116E RAM launcher;
- An operational contract supporting the Bundeswehr’s participation in the Heinrich Hertz (H2Sat) satellite mission – covering operation and maintenance of the German communications satellite;
- Standardization of FüWES-M (Führungs- und Waffeneinsatzsysteme – Marine) naval command and weapon-control systems;
- Products from the SINA (Sichere Inter-Netzwerk Architektur) family, involving cryptographic and information-security solutions.
MBDA DefendAir
From the above list, the most notable contract is the development, production, and delivery of MBDA DefendAir air-defense missiles, which will be integrated into the Oerlikon Skyranger 30 gun-missile air-defense system mounted on the GTK Boxer chassis. Approximately 490 million EUR will be allocated for this (2.081 billion PLN). The missile is to be completed between 2025–2028 and undergo qualification by 2029, enabling it to enter production and begin deliveries from 2030.
DefendAir is a short-range air-defense missile, previously designated SADM (Small Anti-Drone Missile), developed by MBDA Deutschland. Its integration with the Oerlikon Skyranger 30 began after the signing of a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Rheinmetall AG during the ILA Berlin Air Show 2024.
The system is based on the leichte Wirkmittel 1800+ guided missile used with single-use MBDA Enforcer launchers, measuring 1 m in length, 90 mm in diameter, and weighing around 7.5 kg. For DefendAir, an air-target seeker and a booster were added to extend the range.
Its primary purpose is to defeat small drones (UAS Class 1, up to 150 kg), but it can also engage other aerial threats such as loitering munitions and helicopters. The missile’s low production cost and scalability make it an efficient counter to inexpensive airborne threats.
Interestingly, missiles resembling DefendAir were seen on the concept rendering of the LOAD (Low-Cost Air Defence) UAV revealed by Airbus Defence and Space in March this year.
For the Oerlikon Skyranger 30, DefendAir missiles will expand kinetic capabilities against airborne threats, complementing the Oerlikon KCE 30×173 mm revolver cannon with a rate of fire of 1200 rounds/min and an effective range of up to 3000 m. The gun can fire ABM programmable rounds, APFSDS-T, and TP-T training ammunition. Ammunition capacity is 250 rounds.
According to previously displayed mock-ups, the Skyranger 30 turret will house a 9-cell retractable DefendAir launcher, although the military would prefer 12 cells.
The turret features five AESA antennas of the AAMR (AESA Multi-Mission Radar) operating in the S-band, providing 360° coverage and an instrumental range of up to 20 km. It was developed by Rheinmetall Italia. It is complemented by the FIRST passive IR search-and-track system and the TREO tracking/identification unit with a cooled mid-wave IR camera (1.3°–23°), an HD TV camera with variable zoom (0.75°–37°), and two laser rangefinders (for air targets up to 6 km and ground targets).
The turret weighs approx. 2–2.5 t, measures 5175 mm in length, 2568 mm in width, and 1444 mm in height, and has a crew of three. It offers STANAG 4569 Level 2 protection, upgradeable to Level 4.
Interestingly, the manufacturer allows integration of other air-defense missiles such as MBDA Mistral 3, FIM-92 Stinger, Cheetah, SkyKnight, and even a 20 kW laser weapon system as the Skyranger 30 HEL, with plans to increase output to 50 kW.
The Bundeswehr has ordered 18 Oerlikon Skyranger 30 systems, and a prototype was delivered for testing at the end of January this year. Other buyers include Hungary (on the KF41HU Lynx IFV chassis), Austria (36 systems on Pandur EVO 6×6), Denmark (16 systems on Piranha V), the Netherlands (22 systems on the tracked ACSV G5 – contract expected by end of 2025), and Lithuania, which is considering them for its Vilkas IFVs (GTK Boxer).
