{"id":31931752,"date":"2026-11-09T11:17:59","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T10:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/belgium-skyranger-30-rheinmetall-order-51st-squadron-blue-dome-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-11-09T11:18:22","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T10:18:22","slug":"belgium-skyranger-30-rheinmetall-order-51st-squadron-blue-dome-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/belgium-skyranger-30-rheinmetall-order-51st-squadron-blue-dome-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Belgium Orders 20 Skyranger 30 and Revives 51st Air Defence Squadron"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\r\n\r\n<style>\r\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid 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On Monday 9 November 2026, 37 years later, it took two big steps to rebuild ground-based air defence within a single morning. Rheinmetall announced a contract for 20 Skyranger 30 air defence systems, and at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, Defence Minister Theo Francken brought a Cold War air defence squadron back to life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The new guns are meant for one threat above all others: drones. Rheinmetall says the systems will sit on hooklift platforms and protect Belgian territory and critical infrastructure from fixed positions, as the short-range layer of a national air defence network Belgium calls Blue Dome.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f4f6f9;border:1px solid #e2e7ee;padding:18px 22px;margin:22px 0 26px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#0d1117\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px\"><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Order:<\/strong> 20 Rheinmetall Skyranger 30 air defence systems on hooklift platforms<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Announced:<\/strong> Monday 9 November 2026<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Value:<\/strong> Mid three-digit million euros, including logistics (Rheinmetall)<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Deliveries:<\/strong> From the end of 2028<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Role:<\/strong> Static protection of Belgian territory and critical infrastructure, mainly against drones<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Programme:<\/strong> Blue Dome: 10 NASAMS, 20 Skyranger 30, 14 radars, 54 command vehicles<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Unit:<\/strong> 51st Squadron, reformed after 37 years; Beauvechain now, Ursel by 2032<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Twenty Skyrangers for Blue Dome<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>According to Rheinmetall&rsquo;s press release of 9 November, the package covers the 20 systems plus their logistics support and is worth a sum &ldquo;in the mid three-digit million-euro range&rdquo;. Deliveries are scheduled to begin at the end of 2028. The company says less than 18 months passed between the first talks in June 2025 and the signed contract, and that the programme was run in close consultation with the Netherlands, Belgium&rsquo;s partner on air defence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The Skyranger 30 is an unmanned turret built around a 30 mm Oerlikon KCE revolver cannon, with its own search radar and optical tracker on board. Rheinmetall designed it to engage helicopters, small drones, loitering munitions and cruise missiles. Most buyers so far mount it on armoured vehicles such as the Boxer. Belgium has chosen a static version on a hooklift platform instead, because its job is guarding fixed sites rather than following troops in the field.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/11\/skyranger-30-boxer-ila-2026.jpg\" alt=\"Rheinmetall Boxer Skyranger 30 air defence system with its 30 mm cannon turret on display at ILA Berlin 2026\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The Skyranger 30 turret on a Boxer wheeled vehicle at ILA Berlin in June 2026. Belgium&rsquo;s 20 systems use the same turret on a static hooklift platform instead. Photo: Boevaya mashina \/ Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The turrets will plug into the command-and-control architecture of Blue Dome. In Belgian reporting carried by the Belga news agency, the layered shield combines ten NASAMS missile systems, the 20 Skyranger guns, 14 radars and 54 command vehicles. Francken said the NASAMS missiles can intercept targets up to 50 kilometres away, while the Skyrangers form the short-range layer aimed above all at drones.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;The rapid technological evolution of airborne threats requires cutting-edge, fully integrated defence systems. The Skyranger 30 will make a decisive contribution to reliably safeguard Belgian territory and critical infrastructure.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Roman K&ouml;hne<\/strong> &mdash; CEO of Rheinmetall Air Defence, press release of 9 November 2026<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The 51st Squadron returns<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>The second announcement reached back into the Cold War. The 51st Squadron, created in 1959, operated Nike-Hercules surface-to-air missiles and helped guard NATO airspace against the Soviet Union. It was disbanded in 1989, after the fall of the Berlin Wall. In Francken&rsquo;s telling, the rest of Belgium&rsquo;s surface-to-air capability disappeared in the years that followed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>On 9 November the unit was reformed and given its old mission back: responsibility for Belgium&rsquo;s air defence. Writing on X, Francken said the Air Force was making history that day. According to Belga and the Anadolu news agency, the squadron will be based at <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-bases\/beauvechain\/\">Beauvechain Air Base<\/a> for now and move to Ursel in East Flanders by 2032 at the latest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/11\/nike-hercules-royal-military-museum-brussels.jpg\" alt=\"A white MIM-14 Nike Hercules surface-to-air missile on display at the Royal Military Museum in Brussels\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A MIM-14 Nike Hercules at the Royal Military Museum in Brussels. The 51st Squadron flew this missile type from 1959 until it was disbanded in 1989. Photo: Clemens Vasters \/ Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Francken also explained why it matters now. As reported by Anadolu, he pointed out that wars are increasingly fought with drones and that Belgium hosts a long list of strategic targets, from NATO and the EU institutions to Euroclear, Swift and the ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge. Defence expects the first NASAMS systems at the end of 2027, and a later phase is meant to add protection against ballistic missiles.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A gun answer to a cheap threat<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>Belgium has been here before. Rheinmetall points out that one of its predecessor companies, together with Krauss-Maffei, supplied Gepard anti-aircraft tanks to the Belgian armed forces exactly 50 years ago. Belgium withdrew its Gepards around 2006, and since then it has relied largely on its fighter jets and its allies for protection from the air.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UnV9qoYQJMg\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px\">Rheinmetall&rsquo;s own presentation of the Skyranger 30, the 30 mm turret Belgium is buying for static drone defence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The war in Ukraine changed the arithmetic. Cheap one-way attack drones arrive in numbers that make firing expensive missiles at each one unaffordable, and fighters cannot loiter over every port and power station. A radar-guided cannon firing programmable ammunition offers a far lower cost per engagement, which is why Germany, the Netherlands and others have turned back to gun-based air defence. It is the same problem we explored in <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/how-counter-drone-system-works-detect-track-defeat-c-uas\/\">How Does a Counter-Drone System Work?<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>For the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-forces\/belgian-air-force\/\">Belgian Air Force<\/a>, the result is a new kind of mission alongside its <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-16-fighting-falcon\/\">F-16s<\/a> and incoming <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-35-lightning-ii\/\">F-35s<\/a>. The Nike-Hercules sites are long gone. From 2028, a revived squadron with a 1959 lineage will be guarding Belgian skies against threats its founders never imagined.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><em>Sources: Rheinmetall press release (9 November 2026), Belga via DHnet, Anadolu Agency via TRT Haber, aeroTELEGRAPH, Janes, Milit\u00e4r Aktuell, Wikipedia (Skyranger 30; Flakpanzer Gepard)<\/em><\/p>\r\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\r\n\r\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n\r\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>How many Skyranger 30 systems has Belgium ordered?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Belgium has ordered 20 Rheinmetall Skyranger 30 air defence systems, announced on 9 November 2026. The package, including logistics support, is worth a sum in the mid three-digit million-euro range, according to Rheinmetall. Deliveries are scheduled to begin at the end of 2028.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What will Belgium use the Skyranger 30 for?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Belgium will use its Skyranger 30 systems for the stationary protection of its territory and critical infrastructure, with drones as the main threat. The turrets are mounted on hooklift platforms rather than armoured vehicles and form the short-range layer of the Blue Dome air defence network.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What is Belgium&rsquo;s Blue Dome air defence programme?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Blue Dome is Belgium&rsquo;s layered air defence programme against drones, cruise missiles, fighter aircraft and helicopters. It combines ten NASAMS missile systems, 20 Skyranger 30 guns, 14 radars and 54 command vehicles in one integrated network. A later phase is planned to add protection against ballistic missiles.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What is the Belgian 51st Squadron?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The 51st Squadron was a Belgian air defence unit created in 1959 that operated Nike-Hercules surface-to-air missiles during the Cold War. It was disbanded in 1989 after the fall of the Berlin Wall. On 9 November 2026 it was reformed to take charge of Belgium&rsquo;s new ground-based air defence.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Where will the revived 51st Squadron be based?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The reformed 51st Squadron will be based temporarily at Beauvechain Air Base in Walloon Brabant. According to Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken, as reported by Belga, the unit will move to Ursel in the province of East Flanders by 2032 at the latest.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What weapon does the Skyranger 30 use?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Skyranger 30 is an unmanned turret armed with a 30 mm Oerlikon KCE revolver cannon, with its own search radar and optical tracker. Rheinmetall designed it to engage helicopters, small drones, loitering munitions and cruise missiles, offering a much cheaper shot than an air defence missile.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How many Skyranger 30 systems has Belgium ordered?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Belgium has ordered 20 Rheinmetall Skyranger 30 air defence systems, announced on 9 November 2026. 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Detect, Track, Defeat<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/why-radar-cannot-detect-small-drones-rcs-micro-doppler-birds\/\">DJI Phantom vs Pigeon: Why Radar Still Cannot Find Small Drones<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/how-fighter-jets-shoot-down-drones-gun-sidewinder-amraam-apkws-cost\/\">How Fighter Jets Shoot Down Drones: Guns, Sidewinders and Cost<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/belgium-f-16-pledge-ten-jets-ukraine-2026-de-wever\/\">Belgium Raises F-16 Pledge: Ten Jets for Ukraine<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On 9 November 2026, Belgium ordered 20 Rheinmetall Skyranger 30 counter-drone guns and revived the 51st Squadron, disbanded in 1989, to run its new air defence.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":31931666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[664,670],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31931752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-aviation","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Belgium Orders 20 Skyranger 30 Air Defence Guns | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Skyranger 30 order: Belgium buys 20 Rheinmetall counter-drone guns for Blue Dome, and the 51st Squadron returns after 37 years to run air defence.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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