Rheinmetall has been awarded a further contract to supply Skynex air defence systems to a European customer. The systems will enhance the customer’s ability to defend itself against aerial threats. The order has a value in the lower three-digit million euro range. The deliveries will take place over the course of 2025 and, as with the initial contract, will also include the associated Rheinmetall made HX trucks.

Relying on automatic cannon-based air defence, Skynex lends itself especially well to very short-range contexts where guided missiles are ineffective. Moreover, the use of programmable 35mm Ahead ammunition, as developed by Rheinmetall for this purpose, is significantly less expensive than comparable guided missile-based systems. Equally important: 35mm ammunition cannot be influenced much less jammed by electronic countermeasures when fired.  The success of the self-propelled “Flakpanzer” Gepard antiaircraft system in Ukraine underscores the effectiveness of 35mm gun-based air defence against aerial targets, especially cruise missiles and drones.

The advanced Skynex air defence system is based on a concept that keeps airspace surveillance separate from the effectors. Owing to this modularity, and depending on the mission, the necessary assets can be linked to the command-and-control network. The system enables integration of radar equipment from various manufacturers. Skynex also offers great freedom with respect to effectors, enabling integration of many different advanced air defence weapons into the system.  Having its own tracking unit is the sole prerequisite. Besides individual sensors and effectors, existing air defence systems like the Skyshield and Skyguard families can be built into the new architecture as fire units. In a remotely located command and weapon engagement centre, the recognized air situation is depicted on a map together with the sensors and effectors positioned in the field, thus simplifying allocation of targets to air defence assets connected to the system.

Oberkochen/Germany, 1. March 2024 – The sensor solution provider HENSOLDT has sold its all-round vision system SETAS (See Through Armour System) for the first time. The customer is KNDS in Germany. The order comprises a total of 54 units. The order value is in the double-digit million range. SETAS will be integrated into the customer’s RCH 155 self-propelled artillery gun.

SETAS is a high-performance day and night observation system for armoured vehicles of all kinds. The high-resolution electro-optical vision system gives every crew member the opportunity to obtain full visual situational awareness 360 degrees around the vehicle from inside the vehicle. Threats within their radius of action can be reliably identified and classified at an early stage. The modular system comprises two high-performance sensor systems: high-resolution colour daylight cameras and uncooled thermal imaging cameras.

“With the initial integration, we are equipping our customer and the user with a revolutionary sensor solution in the field of all-round visibility,” says Tanya Altmann, Head of Optronics & Land Solutions at HENSOLDT. “The system will realise its full potential when it is connected to the vehicle network and the battle management system and provides crew members with the best possible information sovereignty using AI-supported sensor fusion. With this launching customer, HENSOLDT is therefore consistently continuing its growth path as a solution provider.”

In a further configuration step, the observation capabilities of SETAS can be enhanced with integrated automatic image processing functions such as Moving Target Indication (MTI), object tracking and other modes. This makes it easier for the crew to cope with the large amount of image data for personal 360-degree situational awareness. Thanks to its modularity and open interface architecture (NGVA-compliant), this observation system can be easily integrated into any new or existing vehicle.  The interface allows full integration or standalone operation by supporting any type of HMI (standard or smart display, smart glasses, tablet, etc.).

Using a helmet-mounted display as an HMI, a crew member inside the vehicle can practically see through the armour and thus achieve the same orientation as when observing “from above”. Intelligent software algorithms automatically warn the crew if a potentially threatening movement is detected in the vicinity of the vehicle. SETAS can be installed as a stand-alone system, providing crews of both legacy platforms and new systems with significantly increased situational awareness.

You can find out more about SETAS here.