Rheinmetall’s Skymaster to bolster Austrian drone, missile defenses

COLOGNE, Germany — The Austrian government tapped Germany’s Rheinmetall to modernize the country’s close-in air defenses in a agreement worth €532 million ($570 million).

The scope of the four-year project entails bringing the armed forces’ 28 twin guns of the Rheinmetall Skyguard product range, grouped into seven tactical units, to a “Next Generation” standard, according to a vendor statement. Improvements are slated to include greater sensor accuracy in capturing targets such as drones, missiles and low-flying aircraft, thanks to a new command-and-control system dubbed Skymaster.

Once detected, threats as far aways as four kilometers, or two-and-a-half miles, can be pulverized with a 35mm gun shooting at a rate of 1,000 rounds per minute, according to the Rheinmetall.

The deal complements recent Austrian pledges to buy upgraded military equipment. In the air-defense domain, Vienna is eying the U.S.-made Patriot and Israeli Arrow-3 systems for the long-range segment , and the German IRIS-T system for the medium- and short-range segments .

Combined with the close-range Skynet guns, which target threats that made it through the outer layers of an air-defense shield, the envisioned Austrian setup is typical for the types of capabilities on which European nations are spending their defense money these days.

Spooked by Russian attacks on population centers in Ukraine with drones and missiles, governments here have banded together under the European Sky Shield Initiative , led by Germany. The project aims to link national assets into one giant shield for all of Europe.

Rheinmetall is using its new business in Austria, to be managed by the company’s Zurich plant, to trumpet its cannon-based solutions as the last line of defense against threats about to make impact.

Company officials cited the gun-based German Gepard air-defense tanks, which reportedly notched vital intercepts in Ukrainian soldiers’ hands, as proof that the technology remains relevant.

That is in comparison with guided interceptor missiles, which cost more, and lasers, which still need development.

Sebastian Sprenger is associate editor for Europe at Defense News, reporting on the state of the defense market in the region, and on U.S.-Europe cooperation and multi-national investments in defense and global security. Previously he served as managing editor for Defense News. He is based in Cologne, Germany.

德国科隆——奥地利政府与德国莱茵金属公司签署了一项价值 5.32 亿欧元（5.7 亿美元）的协议，旨在对该国的近程防空系统进行现代化改造。

据供应商声明，这项为期四年的项目旨在将武装部队现有的28门莱茵金属“天卫士”（Rheinmetall Skyguard）双联装机炮（分为七个战术单元）升级到“下一代”标准。改进措施包括提高传感器精度，以便更精准地探测无人机、导弹和低空飞行器等目标，这得益于名为“天霸”（Skymaster）的新型指挥控制系统。

据莱茵金属公司称，一旦发现远在四公里（两英里半）外的威胁，就可以用35毫米火炮以每分钟1000发的射速将其摧毁。

这项交易是对奥地利近期承诺购买升级版军事装备的补充。在防空领域，维也纳正考虑采购美国制造的“爱国者”和以色列制造的“箭-3”远程防空系统，以及德国制造的“IRIS-T”中近程防空系统。

结合近距离的“天网”武器（用于打击突破防空屏障外层的威胁），奥地利设想的这套系统是欧洲国家如今在国防领域投入资金的典型能力类型。

由于俄罗斯使用无人机和导弹袭击乌克兰人口中心，各国政府感到震惊，并联合发起了由德国牵头的“欧洲天空之盾”倡议。该项目旨在将各国资源整合起来，形成覆盖整个欧洲的巨大安全屏障。

莱茵金属公司正利用其在奥地利的新业务（由该公司苏黎世工厂管理）大力宣传其以大炮为基础的解决方案，将其作为抵御即将产生影响的威胁的最后一道防线。

公司官员援引德国猎豹防空坦克（据称该坦克在乌克兰士兵手中取得了关键的拦截战果）作为证据，证明这项技术仍然具有现实意义。

相比之下，制导拦截导弹的成本更高，而激光武器仍需进一步研发。

塞巴斯蒂安·斯普伦格是《防务新闻》欧洲版副主编，负责报道该地区的防务市场状况，以及美欧在防务和全球安全领域的合作和多国投资。此前，他曾担任《防务新闻》执行主编。他现居德国科隆。