Denmark Guns For Skyranger Air-Defence Upgrade

Denmark has chosen Rheinmetall’s Skyranger 30 as the air defence turret system on its Piranha V Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV).

Last week the Danish Ministry of Defence's Materiel and Procurement Agency (FMI) signed a contract for 16 of the Skyranger 30 turret systems plus ammunition. The exact value of the contract, signed on Friday at FMI in Ballerup just west of Copenhagen, has not been disclosed.

However Rheinmetall said the turrets’ value was “in the low three-digit-million-Euro range,” while the ammunition was “in the low double-digit-million-Euro range.”

A prototype turret is scheduled to be supplied in late 2026 and delivery of the order is anticipated to be completed during 2027 and 2028. The acquisition will help Denmark fulfil its NATO Short Range Air Defence (SHORAD) requirements. 

The Skyranger 30 system features a powerful 30mm machine gun — a modified version of the Oerlikon KCA cannon — as well as anti-aircraft missiles. The gun can fire 1,250 rounds per minute and the turret can elevate to 85° to enable the weapon to provide close-range protection against a range of threats including fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), loitering munitions and cruise missiles.

A final selection over precisely which missile system the Danish turrets will utilise has yet to be made.

FMI boss Lieutenant General Per Pughom Olsen commented: “The conclusion of the contract is an important step on the way to establishing the brigade's air defences, which in turn is an essential part of making the brigade fully operational.

“The choice of the Skyranger tower and its machine gun has been made in close cooperation with our colleagues in the Defence Command area.”

Oliver Duerr, CEO of Rheinmetall Electronic Solutions, added: “We are grateful that Denmark, another major NATO customer, now trusts our Skyranger 30.

“We are pleased to be able to integrate Skyranger into another vehicle platform. This demonstrates the modularity and adaptability of our system.”

Danish firm Terma will be responsible for integrating the radar, operations centre and communication systems into a unified air-defence system.

• You can read more details about the deal on the Danish MoD website and on the Rheinmetall website