Rheinmetall Air Defence

Rheinmetall Air Defence AG is based at Birchstrasse 155 in Zurich-Oerlikon, Switzerland, and is part of the Rheinmetall Group, which concentrates all of its air defence activities in this company. It goes back to Contraves, founded in 1936 to develop anti-aircraft technology, and to the Oerlikon-Contraves group formed in 1989; Rheinmetall acquired the business in 1999 and renamed Oerlikon Contraves AG as Rheinmetall Air Defence AG with effect from 1 January 2009. The Oerlikon brand is still used for its products. Besides the competence and production centre in Zurich, the company runs the Ochsenboden test centre near Studen for ammunition, weapons and systems, and a subsidiary in Singapore. According to the company, the armed forces of more than 40 nations use its systems.

The portfolio covers ground-based and naval air defence: the Skyguard 3 fire-control system with the Oerlikon twin gun GDF007 and the towed Oerlikon Revolver Gun Mk2, the Skyshield short-range system, the Skynex networked air defence system built around the Skymaster battle management system, the X-TAR3D search radar and the 35 mm Revolver Gun Mk3, and the mobile Skyranger 30 and Skyranger 35 turrets with 30 mm and 35 mm revolver cannons. Most of the guns fire programmable airburst rounds using the Oerlikon AHEAD technology. At sea the company offers the Millennium Gun and the Searanger remote weapon station; it also produces 35 mm ammunition and laser light modules and target illuminators.

Drone defence has become the focus of the business. The X-TAR3D radar detects drones and cruise missiles, Skynex is designed to defeat drones and loitering munitions as well as rockets, artillery and mortar rounds, and the company’s drone defence toolbox links X- and S-band radars, passive emitter location, ADS-B identification and electro-optical sensors to the Skymaster command system and to effectors such as a directional C-UAS jammer. Skynex systems are in service with the Ukrainian armed forces and have been ordered by the Italian Army. The Skyranger 30, developed by Rheinmetall in Switzerland, has been ordered by the Bundeswehr on the Boxer, by the Austrian Armed Forces with 36 systems on the Pandur EVO, by the Danish armed forces with 16 turrets and by the Netherlands, mainly to counter drones.