Belgium to purchase 20 Skyranger 30 air defense systems to protect key infrastructures from drone attacks.

Belgium is planning to acquire 20 Rheinmetall Skyranger short-range air defense systems alongside 10 Kongsberg NASAMS launchers under a €3.1 billion framework to reconstruct its ground-based air defense layer. The procurement, scheduled for a potential formal announcement at the NATO summit in Ankara between July 7 and 8, 2026, aims to close a critical low-altitude capability gap highlighted by persistent drone incursions over strategic domestic infrastructure. By leveraging existing Dutch framework contracts, the Belgian Ministry of Defence accelerates its integration timeline while maximizing logistical, tactical, and maintenance commonality with neighboring forces.

The proposed €3.1 billion defense package incorporates 20 Skyranger systems, likely in the 30 mm configuration utilizing programmable AHEAD airburst ammunition to counter low-altitude unmanned aerial systems cost-effectively. Operating through a shared Dutch procurement mechanism, these short-range assets will provide terminal close-in protection for high-value static infrastructure, maneuver brigades, and the accompanying 10 medium-range NASAMS launchers.

Related topic: Belgium to boost mobile air defense capabilities with acquisition of German-made Skyranger systems

This €3.1 billion procurement package, built around 20 Skyranger systems and 10 NASAMS launchers, creates the basis for Belgium’s first modern layered land-based air defense structure after years of limited short-range protection. (Picture source: Army Recognition)

On July 2, 2026, Reuters announced that Belgium could announce a €3.1 billion ground-based air defense package combining 20 Skyranger short-range air defense systems with 10 NASAMS launchers at the NATO summit in Ankara held between July 7 and 8, 2026. Both purchases are planned to use Dutch framework contracts to reduce the need for a separate contracting process. This follows Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken’s June 2025 confirmation that the Skyranger would be part of Strategic Vision 2025, Belgium’s 2026-2034 modernization plan. The two systems address a capability gap created after Belgium lost a modern mobile ground-based air defense layer in the early 2010s.

Belgium has not named the exact Skyranger variant, but the available information strongly points to the Skyranger 30: the Dutch contract is for Skyranger 30, the Belgian plan uses Dutch framework contracts, and Rheinmetall's air defense concept shown at BEDEX 2026 paired static Skyranger 30 firing units with NASAMS and Thales Ground Master 200 radar. The Dutch link is the strongest indicator of Belgium’s likely configuration. On December 11, 2025, the Netherlands signed a contract with Rheinmetall for Skyranger 30 systems in both mobile and static forms, with ACSV Gen 5 tracked vehicles, static mounts, tactical-level control nodes, hook-lift transport vehicles, simulators, integration work, and logistics support.

That contract followed a January 29, 2025 Dutch decision to procure 22 Skyranger 30 systems for the Defense Ground-Based Air Defense Command at Lieutenant-General Best Barracks in Vredepeel, with deliveries planned from 2028 and a personnel increase of about 125 people to operate and support the capability. Belgium’s plan to buy through the same Dutch framework therefore makes a Skyranger 35 outcome less likely, because the Skyranger 35 would bring a different cannon, ammunition chain, integration path, and sustainment model. A Belgian Skyranger 30 buy would instead reuse much of the Dutch baseline and could allow common training, common spares, common software updates, and common doctrine for the protection of NASAMS batteries and maneuver forces.

The Skyranger 30 is an unmanned turret rather than a single fixed vehicle design, which is why the Belgian carrier decision remains important. The turret weighs about 1.8 to 2.3 tonnes with ammunition, uses a 1.414 m turret ring, and carries its operators inside the protected vehicle hull rather than in the turret. The cannon barrel is 2.126 m long, the turret can traverse 360°, and elevation ranges from -10° to +85°, allowing engagements against low-altitude targets and steep terminal threats. The same turret can be installed on tracked vehicles, 6×6 vehicles, 8×8 vehicles, and static firing positions. Germany selected Boxer, Austria selected Pandur EVO, Denmark selected Piranha V, the Netherlands selected ACSV Gen 5, and Romania uses the Skyranger 35 variant on Lynx.

To date, Belgium has not said whether its 20 systems will be mounted on vehicles, deployed as static firing units, or split between both roles, and that choice will determine whether the purchase mainly protects maneuver units, fixed infrastructure, NASAMS batteries, or all three. The core weapon of the Skyranger 30 is the 30×173 mm Oerlikon KCE revolver cannon, with a nominal firing rate of about 1,200 rounds per minute and an effective anti-air range of 3 km. The turret carries 252 to 300 ready rounds, depending on configuration, and uses programmable AHEAD airburst ammunition to engage targets that are too small, too cheap, or too numerous to justify medium-range missile shots.

The PMC308 round releases 162 tungsten cylinders in front of the target, while the developing PMC455 raises the fragment count to about 500 tungsten elements at similar projectile mass, increasing density against micro-UAVs, small drones and loitering munitions. This is the main operational reason the Skyranger fits Belgium’s requirement: the NASAMS is needed for medium-range defense, but using medium-range interceptors against every small UAV creates a poor cost-exchange ratio and can exhaust missile stocks. Like its past decommissioned Gepard anti-aircraft systems, a gun layer gives Belgium a lower-cost terminal defense option for repeated engagements inside the defended zone. The missile fit remains one of the most consequential Belgian decisions.

The Skyranger 30 can integrate the FIM-92 Stinger with a 5 km range, the Mistral 3 with an 8 km range, the MBDA DefendAir above 5 km, and the SkyKnight up to 10 km with a maximum target altitude of 6,000 m. For instance, Germany is adding MBDA's DefendAir to its Boxer-mounted Skyranger 30 under a program valued at nearly €490 million, with series production expected from 2029 and 9 to 12 ready missiles possible depending on launcher arrangement. Austria and Denmark selected the Mistral 3, while the Netherlands’ Skyranger 30 has been linked to the Stinger. Belgium could follow the Dutch missile line for maximum commonality, align with the multinational Mistral 3 acquisition in which it is involved with France, Estonia, Cyprus and Hungary, or move later toward the DefendAir if the priority becomes a dedicated small anti-drone missile.

Each option changes the engagement envelope, stockpile planning, launcher layout, training burden and the division of tasks between cannon, missile and NASAMS. The sensor package is central to the Skyranger 30’s value because short-range air defense is limited less by cannon range than by detection, classification and reaction time. Current production users primarily employ the Hensoldt Spexer 2000M 3D MkIII X-band AESA radar, which provides 360° coverage and detects low-level helicopters at 36 km, light aircraft at 27 km, small UAVs at 9 km and micro-UAVs at 6 km. The turret also combines thermal imaging, daylight TV, electro-optical tracking and laser rangefinders, including air-target and land-target measurement channels in some configurations. This sensor mix allows a Skyranger unit to detect and track small aerial targets locally while also receiving target cues from higher-level air defense networks.

In Belgian service, this matters because the defended environment would include dense civilian airspace, ports such as Antwerp-Zeebrugge, industrial infrastructure, military bases, ammunition storage sites, NATO movement routes and air defense launchers that themselves need protection against low-altitude attack. The Belgian layered concept proposed by Rheinmetall at BEDEX 2026 gives the clearest indication of how the systems may be used. Static Skyranger 30 firing units were paired with NASAMS batteries, while the Thales Ground Master 200 Multi-Mission Radar generated the wider air picture. In such a layout, the NASAMS would prosecute medium-range targets, while the Skyranger would defend the battery against drones, loitering munitions, helicopters, cruise missiles and aircraft entering the inner layer.

This arrangement is structurally coherent because NASAMS launchers, radars and command posts are high-value targets and cannot be left without close-in protection. It also fits Belgium’s broader Strategic Vision 2025, which includes 10 NASAMS batteries, future study of Patriot or SAMP/T with the Netherlands for long-range defense, 200 to 300 Piorun man-portable missiles, Mistral 3 participation, and the rebuilding of a very-short-range layer. The result would be a tiered system, with long-range systems for ballistic and high-value air threats, NASAMS for medium-range targets, Skyranger for terminal defense, and MANPADS for dispersed units. The carrier vehicle issue remains unresolved but will affect readiness, cost and tactical use.

The Dutch ACSV Gen 5 is a tracked modular armored support vehicle developed by FFG, with up to 9,000 kg payload and variants for command, logistics, recovery, medical evacuation and air defense. A Belgian decision to follow the Dutch ACSV line would maximize commonality and support cooperation with the Dutch Defense Ground-Based Air Defense Command, but it would introduce or expand a tracked support vehicle fleet that Belgium must sustain. A wheeled carrier could be more compatible with Belgian roads and the wider land force structure, but would reduce direct alignment with the Dutch Skyranger vehicle solution. Static firing units would be faster to integrate for fixed-site defense and NASAMS protection, but they would not restore mobile air defense for maneuver brigades.

This makes the final Belgian configuration more important than the headline figure of 20 systems, because 20 mobile vehicles, 20 static units, or a mixed fleet would produce different operational effects. Rheinmetall’s production capacity is another practical constraint. The company plans to raise its Skyranger output from 70 to 100 turrets per year to as many as 400 per year, but the production queue is already expanding. Germany ordered 19 Boxer-based systems for about €595 million and has signaled much larger future requirements; Austria ordered 36 systems with an option for 9 more; Denmark ordered 16 systems; the Netherlands contracted for 22 systems; Romania selected the Skyranger 35 on Lynx; and Hungary has pursued a Lynx-based Skyranger 30 development path.

Belgium’s 20 Skyranger systems would therefore enter a crowded European demand cycle for turrets, radars, cannon parts, ammunition, missile integration, simulators, and trained maintainers. The Dutch framework can accelerate contracting, but it does not remove industrial lead times. For Belgium, early alignment with the Netherlands could still reduce program risk by avoiding a unique configuration and by using established integration work, especially if Belgium selects the same static firing unit model for NASAMS protection. Belgium’s decision also reflects a broader shift in European air defense planning since the large-scale use of drones, loitering munitions and cruise missiles in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Older force structures often relied on fighter jets, MANPADS and a limited number of medium- or long-range missile batteries, but they lacked enough mobile short-range systems to protect units and fixed sites from persistent low-altitude attacks. The Skyranger 30 addresses that gap through a 30 mm programmable ammunition layer, optional missiles, onboard radar and electro-optical tracking in one turret. Saudi Arabia’s interest in the same system shows that the requirement is not limited to NATO, since Riyadh faces a similar need to protect oil facilities, airports, ports, border areas and military sites against low-flying drones and missiles without spending high-value interceptors on every target. For Belgium, the planned acquisition is therefore more about reconstructing the inner layer of national air defense, integrating it with Dutch procurement, and giving NASAMS and future long-range systems the close-in protection they require to remain survivable during sustained air attack.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.

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