German defense company Rheinmetall has demonstrated the Skyranger 35 air defense system on the Leopard 1 chassis.

The photo was published by hartpunkt on his X.

This is the first time the Skyranger air defense system has been installed on a Leopard 1 chassis. Previously, in June, the system was demonstrated on a Leopard 2 chassis.

Mounting the advanced air defense system on a tank chassis enhances its mobility, enabling it to navigate rough terrain alongside other heavy tracked armored vehicles.

This allows Skyranger to be classified as an army air defense system.

Skyranger 35

The Skyranger 35 system features a combat module equipped with a GDM-008 35mm gun capable of firing at a rate of 1000 rounds per minute. It can optionally accommodate a launcher for two FIM-92 Stinger or Mistral missiles.

The ammunition for the gun includes a variety of rounds, including shells with radio fuses, with a total capacity of 252 35mm shells.

The Skyranger 35 uses an AMMR multipurpose radar operating in the S-band, equipped with five antennas to provide complete 360-degree coverage for detecting small aerial targets.

Additionally, it features a passive Rheinmetall FIRST target detection system, which enhances the detection of small targets without emitting radar signals, thereby avoiding detection by enemy radio reconnaissance.

One of the primary functions of the system, given current threats, is to target reconnaissance and attack drones, for which programmable 35-mm shells are considered ideal.

The range of the artillery system’s air targets is 4000 meters, as stated by the developer. In addition, if necessary, the system can effectively operate against ground targets.

As previously reported, Björn Bernhard, Head of Land Systems at Rheinmetall, stated that Rheinmetall is currently assessing the possibility of equipping Leopard 1 tanks for Ukraine with the Skyranger 35 short-range air defense turret system.