The German government yesterday announced the transfer of another package of military aid to Ukraine, which included missiles for the IRIS-T SLM air defense system, shells for the Gepard anti-aircraft tanks, and most importantly, a battery of Skynex anti-aircraft artillery systems designed to shoot down subsonic cruise missiles and Shahed -136/13 at short distances.
This was certainly good news, as it meant that Ukraine’s air defenses were strengthened by another battery of modern “chesed-dozers”, which are not yet in service even with the Bundeswehr, and can fire at a distance of up to 3 kilometers at a rate of 1,000 rounds per minute.
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In the characteristics of Skynex, it is also important that the battery of this complex, consisting of four 35-mm artillery installations, the X-TAR3D radar and the control unit, can work both autonomously and “in conjunction” with other air defense means.
In addition to the technical characteristics, the very fact of the transfer of one more Skynex battery means that it is possible to protect some important part of our territory from the threat of racist subsonic KR and Shaheds, or to cover an important object of critical infrastructure.
Not to mention the fact that the operation of such a modern anti-aircraft artillery system can generally improve the efficiency of our air defense in repelling massive enemy missile and drone attacks, and in general make the combat work of our defenders of the sky easier.
The Skynex air defense complex from Rheinmetall, illustrative image from open sources
But there is one specific nuance: based on publicly available data, the German government ordered the supply of only two batteries of Skynex systems for Ukraine, the above-mentioned battery from the new military aid package was just the second, and we need as many of these “chess fighters” as possible.
We can further recall that in January 2024 there was mysterious news about the delivery of the Skynex “chessbreaker” to Ukraine, which was voiced by the general director of Rheinmetall Italia Alessandro Ercolani, the company that produces these systems. He said at the time that a $160 million contract had been awarded in December 2022 for exactly two Skynex batteries, with a deadline of March 2024. And the news was mysterious, because it did not coincide with the data known at that time about orders for Skynex for Ukraine.
Against this background, the question quite logically arises that we should order more such “chesedobyki” for our country. But it should not be ruled out that such an order could have already been issued.
The Skynex air defense complex from Rheinmetall, illustrative image from open sources
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