New technologies allow increasingly better defense against drones, but defending against swarm attacks is a particular challenge for air defense, since individual fire control reaches its limits when it has to engage more than a handful of targets at the same time.
Diese Herausforderung wird immer größer, weil die Gefährdung durch kleine unbemannte Flugsysteme (unmanned Aerial Systems, UAS) derzeit stark zunimmt. Kleine Drohnen werden immer starker militärisch und von der Polizei genutzt, aber auch von zivilen Kunden. Sie sind aufgrund ihrer Größe, der geringen Fluggeschwindigkeit und der geringen Flughöhe häufig schwer aufzuklären. Diese unbemannten Flugsysteme sind vergleichsweise billig und können von irregulären Kräften kostengünstig eingesetzt werden. Selbst wenn aggressive Drohnen aufgeklärt werden, sind für ihre Neutralisierung ausreichend wirkungsvolle Systeme nicht verfügbar.
In the case of threats from the air, these systems are assigned to the short and close range. In this area, drones have created a capability gap in the protection of mobile forces. The qualified anti-aircraft defense system, which is currently being procured in Germany, with the 40mm airburst ammunition of its grenade launcher weapon can only work insufficiently against UAS at short range, especially not if they are armed in a stand-off manner (like the Chinese Harwar Zhanfu H16-V12) .
At a press conference in Bonn, Rheinmetall explained what the Boxer Skyranger with a 35mm cannon can do to close the capability gap. For target reconnaissance, the Skyranger has a search radar, which is supplemented with electro-optical sensors. The sensor mix enables the reliable detection and identification of enemy unmanned air systems as a prerequisite for target tracking and ultimately combat. The 35mm gun's airburst ammunition with a salvo of 12 rounds with its sub-projectiles creates a large airspace with sub-projectiles that reliably crash the systems. The Skyranger, which was publicly presented in 2018, has ammunition for a total of 20 salvos on board. Cannon and radar are all-weather capable for permanent 360-degree protection.
Integrated into the ground-based air defense, the Boxer Skyranger could supplement the sensor and effector mix in a capability gap and make an important contribution to mobile space protection.
Gerhard Heiming
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