Netherlands to buy Rheinmetall anti-drone cannons in $1.35 billion buy

PARIS — The Netherlands plans to buy 22 Skyranger mobile air-defense cannons from Germany’s Rheinmetall to protect ground troops against the increased threat of drones, in a project with a budget of €1.3 billion (US$1.35 billion), the Dutch Ministry of Defence said.

The goal is for the first contracts to be signed in the first half of 2025, which should allow for deliveries to start in 2028 and be wrapped up the following year, State Secretary for Defence Gijs Tuinman wrote in a letter to parliament on Wednesday. The budget covers the acquisition price as well as ammunition, operating costs over the weapons’ lifetime and a risk reserve.

The Dutch armed forces currently lack a mobile system that can adequately protect their medium and heavy infantry brigades against small and cheap drones, with longer-range systems neither efficient nor effective against the small drone threat, Tuinman said.

“We need to be better able to combat enemy drones, helicopters and other aerial threats,” Tuinman said in a post on X . “That’s why we are purchasing 22 mobile anti-drone gun systems. In this way we protect our own troops, strengthen combat power and contribute to NATO requirements.”

The Skyranger 30 systems can counter unmanned aircraft systems as well as low-flying helicopters and aircraft up to a distance of 5 kilometers, or roughly 3 miles, using a 30 millimeter rapid-fire cannon coupled with surface-to-air missiles for longer-range targets, the Dutch Ministry of Defence said.

The guns will be mounted on the Armoured Combat Support Vehicle from Germany’s Flensburger Fahrzeugbau, a 26-metric ton tracked vehicle designed to be air-transportable. The ministry is buying off-the-shelf equipment, which is advantageous in terms of price and delivery time, it said.

Unmanned aircraft systems have become a dominant feature of the battlefield in Ukraine, taking out everything from tanks to individual soldiers, and Western militaries are trying to figure out how to protect maneuvering troops in those conditions. The Netherlands said last month it would equip its soldiers with personal protection gear against drones , including targeting lasers and sensors.

The Skyranger’s Oerlikon 30 mm revolver cannon has a firing rate of around 1,200 rounds per minute, and can fire programmable airburst munitions. The turret has its own 360 degree active radar using fixed plate antennas, as well as an infrared thermal-imaging camera for passive tracking. Rheinmetall says the gun has an effective range of 3 kilometers.

NATO is also asking the Netherlands to invest in heavier land-combat capabilities such as ground-based air and missile defense and land-maneuver formations, the minister said. The Netherlands said in September it would again stand up a tank battalion, after having sold its last Leopard 2 tanks in 2011 due to budget cuts.

The Netherlands plans to set up five mobile air-defense units to protect the maneuver battalions of its medium and heavy infantry brigades, with each units receiving four Skyranger 30 combat C-UAS systems in addition to short-range air defense systems.

“Due to geopolitical developments and in case of further growth of the armed forces, it cannot be ruled out that a greater need will arise in the future than has been quantified so far,” Tuinman wrote. “The contracts will therefore include optionality for additional systems wherever possible.”

The vehicles for the Skyranger turret will be purchased in connection with a program announced last year to buy Kongsberg’s National Manoeuvre Air Defence System, a short-range system that also uses the ACSV tracked vehicle.

As part of the Kongsberg purchase, the Netherlands will receive five fire-control units and 18 NOMADS weapon platforms equipped with Sidewinder missiles, with deliveries set to start in 2028. A single short-range air-defense platoon, targeting threats up to 15 kilometers, consists of a mobile fire-control unit and three launchers, according to the Dutch MoD.

With Denmark, Germany and Austria also buying the Skyranger system, that will be positive for cooperation, according to Tuinman. The Netherlands is seeking “a high degree of interoperability” with European allies including Germany, the state secretary said.

Germany in February 2024 agreed to buy 19 Skyranger 30 systems mounted on a Boxer wheeled armored fighting vehicle for €595 million, including one prototype, and with an option to buy another 30 systems. In addition to the gun, the German systems will be armed with Raytheon’s Stinger air-defense missile.

That same month Austria announced an order for 36 Skyranger 30 systems , to be mounted on Pandur wheeled armored vehicles from General Dynamics European Land Systems, with delivery starting in 2026. The turrets for Austria’s systems will combine the 30 mm gun with Mistral guided missiles from MBDA.

Denmark in September followed with an order for 16 Skyranger 30 turrets to be mounted on the eight-wheeled Piranha armored personnel carrier in use with the Danish armed forces. Four units are scheduled for delivery in late 2026, with the remaining serial-produced turrets delivered over the following two years. At the time of the order, Denmark hadn’t picked the air-defense missile yet.

France’s armaments directorate in December asked KNDS France to develop similar mobile air-defense and anti-drone equipment, with an order for 30 Serval armored vehicles mounted with MBDA’s Atlas RC turret and Mistral missiles, and 24 Serval units equipped with a 30 mm cannon to target drones.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——荷兰国防部表示，荷兰计划从德国莱茵金属公司购买 22 门 Skyranger 移动式防空炮，以保护地面部队免受日益增长的无人机威胁，该项目预算为 13 亿欧元（13.5 亿美元）。

国防国务秘书吉斯·图因曼周三在致议会的一封信中写道，目标是在2025年上半年签署首批合同，这将使交付工作能够在2028年开始，并在次年完成。预算涵盖了采购价格、弹药、武器整个使用寿命期间的运营成本以及风险储备金。

图因曼表示，荷兰武装部队目前缺乏能够充分保护其中型和重型步兵旅免受小型廉价无人机攻击的移动系统，而远程系统对于小型无人机的威胁既不高效也不有效。

图伊曼在X网站上发帖称：“我们需要更好地应对敌方无人机、直升机和其他空中威胁。这就是我们采购22套移动式反无人机火炮系统的原因。这样既能保护我们自己的部队，又能增强作战能力，还能满足北约的要求。”

荷兰国防部表示，Skyranger 30 系统可以使用 30 毫米速射炮对抗无人机系统以及低空飞行的直升机和飞机，有效射程可达 5 公里（约 3 英里），并可配合地对空导弹对付更远距离的目标。

这些火炮将安装在德国弗伦斯堡车辆制造厂生产的装甲战斗支援车上，这是一款重达26吨的履带式车辆，设计用于空运。国防部表示，此次采购的是现成的装备，这在价格和交货时间方面都具有优势。

在乌克兰战场上，无人机系统已成为主导力量，从坦克到单兵，无所不能。西方军队正努力寻找在这种环境下保护机动部队的方法。荷兰上个月表示，将为其士兵配备针对无人机的个人防护装备，包括瞄准激光器和传感器。

“天行者”无人机配备的厄利孔30毫米转轮炮射速约为每分钟1200发，并可发射可编程空爆弹药。炮塔自带360度主动雷达，采用固定式天线，同时还配备红外热成像摄像机用于被动跟踪。莱茵金属公司称，该炮的有效射程为3公里。

这位部长表示，北约还要求荷兰投资建设更强大的陆上作战能力，例如陆基防空和导弹防御系统以及陆地机动部队。荷兰在9月份表示，将重新组建坦克营。此前，由于预算削减，荷兰已于2011年出售了最后一批豹2坦克。

荷兰计划建立五个移动防空部队，以保护其中型和重型步兵旅的机动营，每个部队除了短程防空系统外，还将配备四套 Skyranger 30 战斗反无人机系统。

图伊曼写道：“鉴于地缘政治发展以及武装力量的进一步扩张，未来可能出现比目前估计的更大的需求。因此，合同将尽可能包含增购系统的选项。”

Skyranger炮塔的车辆将与去年宣布的一项计划一起采购，该计划旨在购买康斯伯格公司的国家机动防空系统，这是一种短程系统，也使用ACSV履带式车辆。

作为与康斯伯格公司采购的一部分，荷兰将接收5套火控单元和18套配备响尾蛇导弹的NOMADS武器平台，交付将于2028年开始。荷兰国防部表示，一个短程防空排，目标威胁范围达15公里，由一个移动火控单元和三个发射装置组成。

图因曼表示，丹麦、德国和奥地利也采购了“天际游侠”系统，这将有利于双方合作。这位国务秘书还表示，荷兰正寻求与包括德国在内的欧洲盟友实现“高度互操作性”。

德国于2024年2月同意以5.95亿欧元的价格购买19套安装在“拳击手”（Boxer）轮式装甲战车上的“天行者30”（Skyranger 30）防空系统，其中包括一套原型机，并拥有增购30套系统的选择权。除火炮外，这些德国系统还将配备雷神公司的“毒刺”（Stinger）防空导弹。

同月，奥地利宣布订购36套Skyranger 30系统，这些系统将安装在通用动力欧洲陆地系统公司的Pandur轮式装甲车上，交付工作将于2026年开始。奥地利这套系统的炮塔将结合30毫米火炮和MBDA公司的“西北风”制导导弹。

丹麦于9月订购了16座“天行者30”（Skyranger 30）防空导弹炮塔，用于安装在丹麦军队现役的八轮“食人鱼”（Piranha）装甲运兵车上。其中4座炮塔计划于2026年底交付，其余批量生产的炮塔将在接下来的两年内交付。订购时，丹麦尚未选定该款防空导弹。

去年 12 月，法国军备局要求 KNDS France 公司开发类似的移动防空和反无人机设备，订购了 30 辆装有 MBDA Atlas RC 炮塔和 Mistral 导弹的 Serval 装甲车，以及 24 辆配备 30 毫米火炮的 Serval 车辆，用于打击无人机。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。