A report by the Ukrainian army, seen by the German magazine Stern, revealed the failure of the German Skynex air defense system used by Ukraine against Russian drones.
According to the report, the incident occurred last April during a Russian Guran drone attack targeting an industrial facility in Ukraine. The area was protected by two Skynex air defense batteries comprising eight artillery units, two radars, and two command centers, deployed to cover designated engagement zones. However, upon detecting the Russian drones, a significant portion of the system's components failed to activate.
The report indicated multiple technical malfunctions, including the failure of three artillery units due to hydraulic problems, as well as radar malfunctions and interference with mechanical systems, which limited the system's target tracking capability to only two guns. The report concluded that the system suffers from "low technical readiness," operates "highly unreliable," and falls short of its stated specifications.
For its part, the German company Rheinmetall, which manufactures the system, declined to comment on the incident, while confirming that "Skynex" had proven its effectiveness in Ukraine. A German official called for not drawing conclusions based on a single case.
Company representatives also blamed the Ukrainian crews, claiming that the malfunctions were caused by human error, and asserting that the system is "highly effective and reliable".
