The SkyKnight is an all-weather multi-target short-range
air defence
Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...
missile.
It was developed by Halcon Systems and is the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
' first designed counter-rocket, artillery, and mortar (C-RAM) missile. SkyKnight is planned to be integrated into
Rheinmetall
Rheinmetall AG () is a German automotive and arms manufacturer, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was promoted to the DAX, Germany's leading stock market index, in March 2023. It is the largest German and fifth largest Europe ...
Skynex air defence system. Skynex is a fully networked system of sensors and effectors linked via a tactical communications network to provide a mostly automated layered defence against various aerial threats. Up to four -long SkyKnight missile launcher units (MLU) with 60 rounds each can be controlled in a Skynex battery. An MLU can launch up to five missiles in one second and each can simultaneously fire 20 at one time to neutralize 80 incoming targets. The missiles are capable of intercepting manned and
unmanned aircraft and helicopters at ,
precision guided munition
A precision-guided munition (PGM), also called a smart weapon, smart munition, or smart bomb, is a type of weapon system that integrates advanced guidance and control systems, such as GPS, laser guidance, or infrared sensors, with various ty ...
s (PGMs) and
cruise missile
A cruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large payload over long distances with high precision. Modern cru ...
s at , and RAM projectiles at . The Skynex system combines the SkyKnight with up to four Oerlikon Revolver Gun Mk3 35 mm
revolver cannon
A revolver cannon is a type of autocannon, commonly used as an aircraft gun. It uses a cylinder with multiple chambers, similar to those of a revolver handgun, to speed up the loading-firing-ejection cycle. Some examples are also power-driven, ...
s to handle anything that penetrates through the missile defenses.
''European Defence Review''. 8 March 2021.
See also
*Iron Dome
Iron Dome () is an Israeli mobile all-weather air defense system, developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. The system is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired f ...
*Skyshield
Skyshield air-defence system is a Modularity, modular, light weight, short range air defense (SHORAD) system developed by the Swiss corporation Oerlikon Contraves (now a subsidiary of Rheinmetall of Germany). The successor to the Oerlikon 35 m ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
SKYNEX SKYKNIGHT
Halcon
21st-century surface-to-air missiles
Weapons of the United Arab Emirates
Rheinmetall