Yeah, that’s a good catch Steve. It’s programmable so that self-destruct can presumably be adjusted but I think 5 to 6 km is the max for exactly the reason you said. It reminds me of the US RAAM mines that have a self-destruct after a certain period of time.
People ask what makes the US the good guys, at least historically, and I point to the real efforts to try to minimize collateral damage and civilian casualties. Doesn't always work out, but they get an E for effort. Contrast that to Russia who has no problem exploding civilian apartment buildings routinely.
Oh, I warn people about PDF links because depending on your settings, PDFs sometimes download automatically and some people get miffed when that happens.
Good question, Robert. A solid current public estimate is about €1,120 per 35mm AHEAD round. Romania signed a May 2026 contract with Rheinmetall for 401,760 rounds of 35mm AHEAD ammunition at €449.75 million, excluding VAT. That works out to approximately €1,119.45 per round.
Thanks! I immediately began flashing back to my SHORAD Lieutenant and Captain days. Remember the Duster? A 40mm BOFORS cannon mounted on a Walker Bulldog tank chassis? We spent hours of aerial gunnery practice shooting at RCATs towing a sleeve over Chesapeake Bay at Camp Pendleton Virginia in the early 70s.
Skyranger sounds like an updated version of a cross between Duster and the Vulcan Cannon of Vulcan Chaparral fame.
And you're absolutely right that the key statistic for the system is going to be ammunition. The Vulcan was 3000 rounds per minute, but we had a burst selector switch that would limit firing to 50 rounds per burst. You could fire the entire basic load in less than three minutes on a Vulcan without it!
Those were the days! Out in the desert at Fort Bliss in the early dusk firing with an Air Defense barrel clamp at pillboxes. Standing back outside of the enemy machine gun's range and plastering it with 20 mm cannon fire. Absolutely devastating of course having nothing to do with ADA. Duster was a favorite in Vietnam for convoy security. Stand back with that 40 mm cannon and pound any kind of an emplacement out of enemy range!
Please keep writing about this! Keep letting us know how it turns out, I'm very interested. I also would be interested in finding and reading your old piece about the Engineering of the new Skyranger! Thanks again!
Great piece! Go Skyranger! Slava Ukraini!
Something in the dreaded Ammunition PDF caught my eye. It appears to say that the round will self-destruct after 8.2 seconds or around 5 km.
That sounds like a good safety feature to avoid ground casualties. Is that the way you read it?
Yeah, that’s a good catch Steve. It’s programmable so that self-destruct can presumably be adjusted but I think 5 to 6 km is the max for exactly the reason you said. It reminds me of the US RAAM mines that have a self-destruct after a certain period of time.
Only for smart munitions of course. I see that AMRAAMs also do this!
People ask what makes the US the good guys, at least historically, and I point to the real efforts to try to minimize collateral damage and civilian casualties. Doesn't always work out, but they get an E for effort. Contrast that to Russia who has no problem exploding civilian apartment buildings routinely.
Oh, I warn people about PDF links because depending on your settings, PDFs sometimes download automatically and some people get miffed when that happens.
What's the estimated price per single round?
Good question, Robert. A solid current public estimate is about €1,120 per 35mm AHEAD round. Romania signed a May 2026 contract with Rheinmetall for 401,760 rounds of 35mm AHEAD ammunition at €449.75 million, excluding VAT. That works out to approximately €1,119.45 per round.
Wes,
Thanks! I immediately began flashing back to my SHORAD Lieutenant and Captain days. Remember the Duster? A 40mm BOFORS cannon mounted on a Walker Bulldog tank chassis? We spent hours of aerial gunnery practice shooting at RCATs towing a sleeve over Chesapeake Bay at Camp Pendleton Virginia in the early 70s.
Skyranger sounds like an updated version of a cross between Duster and the Vulcan Cannon of Vulcan Chaparral fame.
And you're absolutely right that the key statistic for the system is going to be ammunition. The Vulcan was 3000 rounds per minute, but we had a burst selector switch that would limit firing to 50 rounds per burst. You could fire the entire basic load in less than three minutes on a Vulcan without it!
Those were the days! Out in the desert at Fort Bliss in the early dusk firing with an Air Defense barrel clamp at pillboxes. Standing back outside of the enemy machine gun's range and plastering it with 20 mm cannon fire. Absolutely devastating of course having nothing to do with ADA. Duster was a favorite in Vietnam for convoy security. Stand back with that 40 mm cannon and pound any kind of an emplacement out of enemy range!
Please keep writing about this! Keep letting us know how it turns out, I'm very interested. I also would be interested in finding and reading your old piece about the Engineering of the new Skyranger! Thanks again!
Pete