Air defense, Rheinmetall Skynex systems arriving for the Italian army
Italy has signed a contract worth a total of 280 million with Rheinmetall to equip the Army with Skynex. This is the anti-aircraft system created by the German defense giant, produced in Italy
Italy is the first NATO country to purchase the Skynex anti-aircraft system from German Rheinmetall.
The Italian Army has signed a contract with Rheinmetall for the purchase of four Skynex very short-range air defense systems for a total value of 280 million euros. This is what the Teutonic defense giant led by Armin Papperger communicated yesterday.
The order for the supply of a first system worth a total of 73 million euros was defined with Rheinmetall Italia, a company led by Alessandro Ercolani, and the contract includes the option for a further three systems worth a total of 204 million.
Defense cooperation between our country and the German defense company is further strengthening: last October, Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles was created , a 50-50 joint venture between the Italian aerospace and defense group and the German giant for the new tanks and combat vehicles for the Italian Army.
All the details.
HOW THE RHEINMETALL SKYNEX AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM CHOSEN BY THE ARMY WORKS
Skynex is the anti-aircraft system created by Rheinmetall, produced in Italy, inside a Roman plant in the so-called "Tiburtina Valley".
The system consists of a sensor and detection unit for aerial surveillance, a control station and four 35 mm firing units – it is designed to counter threats from missiles, artillery and mortars but also drones and circuitry munitions both for national defense and for the protection of contingents in operational areas.
DELIVERIES
Delivery of the pilot system is scheduled for second quarter 2026 while the three optionable systems could be contracted in 2027. The distribution package includes the appropriate ammunition, training and maintenance services, as well as spare parts.
ITALY FIRST COUNTRY BORN TO INTRODUCE SKYNEX
As already mentioned, the Italian purchase marks the first NATO country to equip itself with the air defense system.
THE OTHER CUSTOMERS
Skynex is already under contract with Austria, Romania, Qatar and, in particular, Ukraine, reminds Breaking Defense . After being awarded the 182 million euro contract by the German government last year to supply two Skynex systems to Kiev by the end of 2023, partly already delivered to Ukraine, the company is now working on three other Skynex systems bringing the total value of the order at approximately 500 million euros.
Defense cooperation between Rheinmetall and Italy is particularly strong, as the two have also joined forces on heavy combat vehicle projects.
THE ARMY HAS STARTED TESTING THE LYNX
In the meantime, the Italian Army has also started testing the Lynx infantry vehicles supplied by Rheinmetall, Leonardo's partner in the joint venture that will supply land military vehicles to Italy, in view of the first 500 million euro order, placed by mid-2025, of the maxi-contract worth over 20 billion euros in 15 years. The specialized website Defense News reported this at the beginning of the month.
At the end of December, the German armaments group sent a Lynx combat vehicle to Italy, to the Montelibretti testing center, for the testing phase with experts from the Army and Leonardo itself. The order for the Italian Defense concerns 1050 combat vehicles to be developed on the Lynx platform and 250 tanks on the Panther model for a total of 23 billion euros.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/spazio-e-difesa/difesa-aerea-per-esercito-italiano-in-arrivo-i-sistemi-skynex-di-rheinmetall/ on Thu, 16 Jan 2025 14:52:56 +0000.