Rheinmetall Successfully Demos Drone Defence Capabilities in Finland

Rheinmetall successfully demonstrated its capabilities in counter measures against small unmanned aerial systems (c-sUAS) at the Ground-based Air Defence (GBAD) Demo Days at the firing range in Lohtaja, Finland. Representatives of Rheinmetall Air Defence AG were invited to participate by the Inspector of Air Defence of the Finnish Armed Forces.

Despite challenging climatic conditions in a remote forest area, Rheinmetall impressed with a powerful and professional demonstration. The demonstrated threats, ranging from jet drones to small quadcopters, as well as the frictionless cooperation with the organiser XD Solution and the Finnish Armed Forces underlined the operational readiness of the technologies on display. The main focus of the performance was on the detection, classification and tracking of a wide variety of drones in different airspaces and at different flight speeds.

At the core of the presentation was Skyspotter, Rheinmetall’s multi-sensory early warning and reconnaissance system for detecting, classifying and tracking airborne threats. Skyspotter is designed to protect critical infrastructure and secure large areas against drone attacks. The system features an open architecture that allows the integration of different sensors and effectors depending on the threat level. In close cooperation with employees of Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles GmbH, a rapidly deployable version of the Skyspotter system based on the Rheinmetall HX Truck was presented on site. This underscores the flexibility of the system architecture as well as the capabilities of the corporation.

During the demonstration, Rheinmetall presented an integrated overall system consisting of the Skyspotter, several dislocated Passive Emitter Locator sensors and a rapidly deployable, specialised C2 shelter. This ensures optimum command and control capability at a safe distance from active components and increases the protection of operating personnel.

Skyspotter has the ability to integrate various effectors. Depending on the threat situation, the operator can choose whether to use a jammer, an interceptor drone or, in extreme cases, the highly flexible 30 mm revolver gun, which is currently in the conceptional phase. It uses individually programmable KETF ammunition (kinetic energy time fuze), which acts solely with kinetic energy (so-called impact ammunition).

“The GBAD Demo Days 2025 have impressively highlighted the importance of partnership-based cooperation in the further development of modern air defence capabilities. We would like to thank the Finnish Armed Forces for the invitation and the excellent cooperation, as well as our industry partners and our Finnish partner Oy Telva. Their commitment and expertise have contributed significantly to successfully demonstrating the performance of our systems under realistic conditions”, explains Oliver Dürr, Head of the Electronic Solutions Division.