A GDELS-Steyr Pandur PT24 AFV with Skyranger 30 turret, photographed on 2 September 2024, ahead of display at the Airpower 24 airshow at Hinterstoisser Air Base in Zeltweg, Austria. (GDELS)
General Dynamics European Land Systems-Steyr (GDELS-Steyr) has displayed the air-defence variant of its Pandur 6×6 Evolution (EVO) wheeled armoured vehicle, with Rheinmetall's Skyranger 30 turret.
GDELS told Janes that while it could give no concrete information on potential customers for the system, there was “demand there” for it, and that customer preferences had shaped the choice of the Skyranger turret and its armament.
As well as a Rheinmetall-supplied 30 mm cannon, the system will be fitted with a launcher for two MBDA Mistral infrared homing short-range air defence (SHORAD) missiles. Asked about the choice of missile, GDELS told Janes that as the Austrian army already uses the Mistral, it may be a way of keeping the logistics footprint low.
On 23 February 2024 the Bundesheer (Austrian Armed Forces) became the launch customer for the Pandur EVO with Skyranger 30 turret. Ordering 36 of the turrets, the Bundesheer wanted them installed on 36 of the 225 Pandur EVOs it had ordered on 19 February. Under the contract, valued in the mid-three-digit million euro range, deliveries are scheduled for 2026–30.
The Skyranger 30 turret is also being mounted on up to 48 of Germany's Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH (RLS)- and KNDS-manufactured Boxer 8×8 wheeled armoured vehicles, and 15 of Denmark's GDELS-Mowag-manufactured Piranha 5 8×8 wheeled armoured vehicles.
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