The German Skyranger air defense system will be equipped with an automated rapid-reload system
The German company Rheinmetall is developing an automated transport and reloading vehicle for the Skyranger 30 anti-aircraft system, which will allow for significantly faster reloading of its ammunition. The system is designed to reduce reloading time and enable the system to return to combat operations more quickly.
The new vehicle will be able to fully reload the Skyranger 30’s 30-mm cannon—which holds about 250 rounds—in just a few minutes. Currently, this procedure can take tens of minutes or even hours.
Instead of loading ammunition round by round, Rheinmetall plans to replace the entire Skyranger 30 magazine using a special manipulator.
An empty magazine will be removed from the anti-aircraft gun, after which a fully loaded one will be installed in its place. The transport and reloading vehicle itself will be able to carry up to six such magazines.
Additionally, the possibility of creating a special trailer to transport another 12 magazines of ammunition is being considered.
Thus, when using the trailer, the vehicle will be able to transport up to 18 magazines, or approximately 4,500 30-mm rounds.
Another advantage of the system is expected to be increased crew safety. Reloading will take place in such a way that soldiers will not have to leave their armored capsules. This will reduce the risk of injury from artillery shell fragments or during drone attacks.
Rheinmetall is implementing the transport and reloading vehicle project in collaboration with the Austrian Armed Forces and the Austrian companies Empl and Palfinger.
As a result, as Defence Express notes, Austria could potentially be one of the first operators of the new system.
At this stage, the vehicle is being developed for the Skyranger 30. At the same time, there are plans to create a similar system for rapid reloading of the Skyranger 35 in the future.
In October 2025, Rheinmetall announced a contract to supply Ukraine with additional Skyranger 35 air defense systems. The deal is estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of euros.
However, Germany has not disclosed the number of systems or the exact timing of their delivery to Ukraine.
The Skyranger 30 and Skyranger 35 are designed to engage air targets, particularly drones. The introduction of an automated reloading system is expected to reduce the time between firing a round and returning the anti-aircraft system to operational status.
This is reported by Defence Express.
Previously, Rheinmetall Unmanned Vehicles, a company established on the basis of the Croatian firm DOK-ING, conducted two rounds of field tests in Croatia for the MV-8 Komodo heavy ground-based robotic system. During the tests, military personnel evaluated the robotic system’s capabilities for bridge-laying and autonomous vehicle control.
Previously, the German defense conglomerate Rheinmetall unveiled the new-generation GMF 140 frigate, designed for the navies of NATO countries and their allies. The ship, which is 140 meters long and has a displacement of over 6,000 metric tons, is equipped with modern air defense, missile defense, and anti-submarine defense systems, as well as the capability to launch 64 missiles from vertical launch systems.
Rheinmetall successfully tested the launch of FV-014 loitering munitions from a container-based launcher mounted on a moving truck. The company has already released a video of the tests.
