Rheinmetall has officially delivered the first Skynex short-range air defense (SHORAD) system to the Italian Army, marking a milestone in Italy’s effort to strengthen protection against drones and low-flying aerial threats. The handover ceremony took place on 18 December at the Comando Artiglieria Controaerei base in Sabaudia, following a €73 million contract awarded in January 2025. With this delivery, Italy becomes the first NATO member to field Skynex in a configuration integrating the 35 mm Revolver Gun Mk3 with the XTAR 3D radar, signaling a shift toward modern, networked gun-based air defense.
The Skynex system is built around Rheinmetall’s Oerlikon Skymaster battle management system, which fuses data from multiple sensors into a unified air picture. Central to the Italian configuration is the X-TAR3D X-band radar, capable of detecting and classifying targets at ranges of up to 50 kilometers, including small drones, rockets, and low-flying missiles. A typical Skynex battery combines a command-and-control unit, one radar, and up to four Revolver Gun Mk3 effectors, each delivering a firing rate of approximately 1,000 rounds per minute with an effective engagement range of about 4 km.
The Revolver Guns employ AHEAD programmable air-burst ammunition, which detonates ahead of the target and releases a dense cloud of tungsten sub-projectiles. This creates a lethal fragmentation barrier that is highly effective against unmanned aerial systems, cruise missiles, and C-RAM threats. Compared to missile-based air defense, the gun-and-ammunition approach offers a significantly lower cost per intercept, a critical advantage as armed forces confront large numbers of low-cost drones and loitering munitions.
The Italian Skynex delivery comes well ahead of the original schedule, which had anticipated handover in mid-2026, reflecting the urgency of strengthening short-range air defense across Europe. Rheinmetall’s system has already seen combat use in Ukraine, where Skynex batteries protect cities and infrastructure from Shahed drones and cruise missiles. Alongside Romania’s selection of Skynex-based solutions, Italy is joining a growing group of European operators adopting Rheinmetall’s gun-centric SHORAD architecture for modern battlefield defense.
