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Military Sentinel, Kyiv – Ukraine’s 1020th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment has taken delivery of the first Skyranger 35 short-range air defense systems mounted on Leopard 1 tank chassis, according to footage released by Ukraine’s Armed Forces and identified by open-source accounts that track German military assistance to Kyiv. The arrival marks the fielding of a tracked, armored counter-drone platform intended to shield front-line formations and critical infrastructure from Russian drone and missile strikes.
What Happened
An account that monitors German military assistance to Ukraine identified the unit shown in the footage as the 1020th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment, part of Ukraine’s Ground Forces, and said the regiment appears to have received the first Leopard 1-based Skyranger 35 systems built by manufacturer Rheinmetall.
The delivery follows repeated public confirmations from Rheinmetall leadership that the first units were moving through the logistics pipeline. Speaking at the company’s Capital Markets Day on 18 November, CEO Armin Papperger told investors that the first Skyranger 35 turret mounted on a Leopard 1 chassis had already left the factory and was en route to Ukraine, with arrival expected within days. Papperger had previously suggested Ukraine had already received the systems before walking back that statement, underscoring the fluidity of delivery timelines on high-priority contracts.
Background on the Contract
Rheinmetall announced the contract for the Leopard 1-based Skyranger systems in October 2025, stating that an unnamed European Union member state would finance the deal using proceeds from frozen Russian assets under the EU’s Windfall Profit Mechanism. The company placed the order’s value in the “three-digit million euro” range and said production and integration would be carried out at Rheinmetall Italia’s facility in Rome.
The precise number of units covered by the contract has not been disclosed. It also remains unclear whether future batches will continue to use refurbished Leopard 1 hulls exclusively, or whether Rheinmetall will eventually adapt the Skyranger 35 turret to other platforms, such as Boxer wheeled vehicles or Lynx infantry fighting vehicles, as part of longer-term plans to localize production inside Ukraine.
Technical Profile
The Skyranger 35 pairs a modern sensor and weapons package with a decades-old tank chassis:
- Main armament: a 35mm Oerlikon-derived revolver cannon, reported as the KDG 35/1000, firing up to 1,000 rounds per minute
- Ammunition: AHEAD programmable airburst rounds designed to shred small, fast-moving aerial targets, including Shahed- and Gerbera-type drones
- Sensors: 360-degree AESA radar paired with a stabilized electro-optical tracking station for rapid detection and engagement
- Engagement range: reported out to roughly 4km against aerial threats
- Chassis: a refurbished Leopard 1 main battle tank hull, giving the system tracked mobility and armor protection that Rheinmetall’s earlier wheeled Skyranger variants delivered to Ukraine do not have
Rheinmetall has previously supplied Ukraine with Skyranger 35 units mounted on truck platforms. The tracked, Leopard 1-based variant is designed to operate closer to maneuver formations along the front, where wheeled vehicles are more exposed to rough terrain and shelling.
Strategic Context
Ukraine has received roughly 170 Leopard 1 tanks from Germany and other partners since 2023, with about 25 confirmed damaged or destroyed, according to the open-source tracking project Oryx. Converting retired Leopard 1 hulls into air-defense carriers gives Rheinmetall a faster route to fielding new capability than building vehicles from scratch, while giving Kyiv a mobile, armored counter to Russia’s sustained drone and missile campaign against the power grid and logistics network.
The new systems are expected to operate alongside other German-supplied short-range air defenses already in Ukrainian service, including Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns and Skynex batteries, as part of a layered defensive network. With winter approaching and Russian strikes on energy infrastructure intensifying, additional Leopard 1-based Skyranger units are expected to reach Ukrainian units in the coming weeks. Rheinmetall has not disclosed a firm schedule for the remainder of the contract.
Suggested category: News
Suggested internal links:
- Rheinmetall Skynex air defense system: combat use in Ukraine
- Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft gun: history and Ukraine deployment
- Leopard 1 tank: from Cold War relic to modern weapons carrier
