German defense concern Rheinmetall will provide Ukraine with a new “Frankenstein” air defense tank capable of shooting down drones and missiles.
This was reported by the Telegraph on June 17, informs Novynarnia.
It is noted that the new tank will be based on the Leopard 1, and its hull will be equipped with the most modern Skyranger anti-aircraft system.
“Rheinmetall has announced that it will install its state-of-the-art Skyranger anti-aircraft system on Leopard 1 tank hulls, creating a new vehicle to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities”, — the publication writes.
The weapon system is capable of countering threats at short distances. In particular, it is about drones and artillery fire, which are increasingly seen as decisive in the war in Ukraine, which is called the “first drone war.”
“There are still many Leopard 1 main battle tanks on whose chassis we could mount the Skyranger turret with the 35 mm caliber automatic cannon”, — Bjorn Bernhard, head of land systems at Rheinmetall, told Bild, a German newspaper.
Ukraine’s army has already received about a hundred Leopard 1 tanks in the regular configuration.
Ukrainian leaders have repeatedly called for more support in the form of air defense in the face of sustained Russian drone attacks that have devastated the country’s energy sector.
Rheinmetall has only recently developed the Skyranger system, which features sophisticated sensors with 360-degree vision of the battlefield, capable of dealing with swarms of drones.
