Because Rheinmetall's Skyranger anti-aircraft tank is delayed, the Bundeswehr is procuring 48 drone defense systems from Diehl. The start-up Tytan also receives a new order.
The Bundeswehr plans to procure 48 GARMR anti-drone systems from Diehl as an interim solution due to delays in Rheinmetall's Skyranger anti-aircraft tank.
The GARMR system detects drones with radars and can fight them with defense drones or an autocannon; it should be quicker to deploy than the Skyranger.
The Bundeswehr also concluded a contract with the start-up Tytan for six drone defense systems on Mercedes G-Class chassis to protect mobile forces.
The delays with the Skyranger are related to special requests and a different chassis; The Bundeswehr rejected a proposed variant.
Munich, Berlin, Düsseldorf. The Bundeswehr is relying on an interim solution to rebuild the army's own air defense system because there are major delivery delays with Rheinmetall's Skyranger air defense system. However, these systems will be needed quickly, especially by troops stationed in Lithuania.
According to company circles, Diehl is now preparing to deliver 48 drone hunting systems to the Bundeswehr. This is about the GARMR system, which can detect drones using radars and shoot them down with its own defense drones or a machine cannon. A German start-up is also included. The Bundeswehr will still continue to wait for the Skyranger - and there are powerful reasons for this.
The army is currently in the process of rebuilding its own air defense force, which was disbanded in 2012. The deployment staff was put into service at the Lüneburg location around a year ago. In mid-October, the Air Force took the first step in handing over the Ocelot light air defense system back to the Army. It can protect close-range units from drones or other aerial threats.
The Skyranger anti-aircraft gun tank also serves this purpose, of which the Bundeswehr has initially ordered a test model and 18 series units. Handelsblatt also learned from industry circles last year that the Bundeswehr was planning to purchase up to 600 Skyrangers worth around nine billion euros.
The original plan was to put a battalion of Skyrangers into service this year. But the schedule is expected to be disrupted by two to three years.
However, the Bundeswehr does not want to wait that long because the 45th Panzer Brigade, which will be permanently stationed in Lithuania and should be fully operational by the end of 2027, would then be largely without drone protection. That's why the interim solution with Diehl is now being pursued.
It has also just been announced that the Koblenz procurement office has signed a contract with the Munich start-up Tytan Technologies for a drone defense system to protect mobile forces. It consists of an anti-drone kit mounted on a Mercedes G-Class chassis.
Both companies had just signed a declaration of intent on future cooperation in Berlin in June in the presence of Federal Minister of Economics Katherina Reiche (CDU). Tytan has already been commissioned by the Bundeswehr to develop a drone defense system to protect properties.
As the specialist portal “Hartpunkt” reports, the Bundeswehr is now initially ordering six copies of the system from Tytan and Mercedes to protect mobile units. Bundeswehr circles say that the various systems could complement each other in the future and that one can never have enough air defense systems.
The Diehl system GARMR, of which 24 with cannon and 24 with interceptor drones are now to be procured, is similar to the Skyranger. But while the crew in the Skyranger is protected by the Boxer armored transport vehicle according to previous plans, Diehl's soldiers only sit in lightly protected vehicles. The advantage: The system can be relocated quickly depending on the threat situation.
The Bundeswehr also initially has to make compromises in terms of performance compared to the Skyranger. The machine cannon used by GARMR has a range of around 1000 meters, the Skyranger's much larger cannon can reach up to 3000 meters. The Cicada interceptor drones used by GARMR have a range of five kilometers. Other interceptor drones with longer ranges can also be used.
Diehl does not want to comment on the possible order from the Bundeswehr. The company only presented GARMR in the spring as a further development of a predecessor model that was already used in Ukraine. The model now intended for the Bundeswehr has already been ordered by Jordan, according to company circles. Diehl expects further orders from the Bundeswehr and other European countries.
The delivery delays for the Skyranger also have to do with special requests for the integration of guided missiles and the chassis, where the Bundeswehr wanted a different Boxer variant than Rheinmetall. In the meantime, Rheinmetall boss Armin Papperger has suggested screwing the Skyranger turret onto a truck instead of the Boxer in order to speed up delivery. However, the Bundeswehr had ruled out this “Skyranger variant”.
Industry circles say that the change agreement for the new chassis with the designation “B0” could be concluded in November 2026. Production of series-ready Skyrangers on this chassis could begin as early as the second quarter of 2027. From this point on, the so-called “trial of office” will begin, which is expected to last until the third quarter of 2028.
