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BERLIN — The Austrian army will obtain 36 air protection methods for its Pandur EVO wheeled armored autos. The nation’s minister of protection, Klaudia Tanner, introduced the deal price about half a billion Euros final week.
It is going to make Austria the primary nation to make use of a modified model of Rheinmetall’s Skyranger 30 system. The weapons station in its Austrian configuration now weighs three tons – 1 / 4 lower than in its unique design – making it appropriate for mounting on the Austrian army’s six-axle Pandur EVO autos, the each day paper “Der Commonplace” reported. A discount in armor and streamlining of the design have been reported to have allowed for this vital discount.
Only a week earlier, the Ministry of Protection had introduced that Austria would buy a further 225 six-axle Pandurs for a complete of €1.8 billion ($1.95 billion). Austrian media reported that the price of the Rheinmetall air protection methods had already been included on this complete.
Austria had beforehand ordered 100 Pandur Evos, nearly all of which have already been delivered.
Common Dynamics European Land Methods assembles the autos in Simmering, Vienna, the place the Rheinmetall weapons station can be built-in,
The Austrian Skyranger 30 methods will mix a sensor suite with a 30-millimeter cannon and guided Mistral missiles, Rheinmetall stated in a press launch.
Along with the 36 items of the cellular air protection system, the contract consists of the choice for 9 additional methods, Austrian media reported.
The primary deliveries are set to happen in 2026, Rheinmetall stated in an announcement. The corporate touted the deal as a “market breakthrough,” noting that they anticipated orders for the brand new system to observe from Germany, Denmark and Hungary. Germany accepted the acquisition of the unique Skyranger 30 system just some days earlier than the Austrian deal was introduced.
The acquisition of the cellular air protection system and the armored autos is a part of the Austrian army’s push to extend its fight readiness in gentle of the worsening safety state of affairs in Europe following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Austria joined the German-led European Sky Defend air protection initiative, ESSI, in 2023 and has since introduced a sequence of procurements to that finish. These included the IRIS-T system and long-range missiles. The Skyranger 30 system, in flip, guarantees to supply short-range, speedy safety for floor forces within the discipline.
“With … a quickly deployable 35mm answer, the Austrian army is now pointing the way in which in modern air protection. Progressive networking and integration of current and higher-echelon methods will lead to decisive strategic benefits,” the Rheinmetall assertion reads.
Linus Höller is a Europe correspondent for Protection Information. He covers worldwide safety and army developments throughout the continent. Linus holds a level in journalism, political science and worldwide research, and is presently pursuing a grasp’s in nonproliferation and terrorism research.
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