• Ukraine received a new Western air-defense system on Thursday, German authorities said.

• The German-made system, Skynex, can fire up to 1,000 bullets per minute, per its developer.

• It could prove vital to countering short-range Russian aerial attacks.

Ukraine has just received a new Western air-defense system designed to wipe out Russian drones by firing 1,000 bullets per minute.

The German federal government announced the delivery of the German-made air-defense system, named the Oerlikon Skynex, as part of its latest aid package to Ukraine on Thursday.

The system is designed to defend against aircraft, cruise missiles, and certain types of drones, among other things.

Some of the significant components of the system include a “sensor package, a shooter package, and a command and control package,” according to a video posted on YouTube by its developer, the German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall.

It also has an X-TAR3D target-acquisition radar, which is capable of identifying aerial threats within a 31-mile range, per the video. It can classify and identify air targets, and it also provides “3D target tracking data.”

Depending on the attack, up to four MK3 revolver guns can be activated, per Rheinmetall.

The MK3 revolver gun can fire up to 1,000 rounds of ammunition per minute at aerial threats, the German manufacturer added.

The guns are equipped with tracking radars, TV and infrared cameras, and laser range finders, hitting targets up to around 2.5 miles away.

The system comes with AHEAD technology, a type of airburst 35 mm ammunition.

“Each Ahead round contains 152 tungsten sub-projectiles which are ejected immediately in front of the oncoming target,” the manufacturer says on its website.

“It can be fitted to any suitable automatic cannon and then successfully engage small, fast aerial targets with a high kill probability,” it adds.

The Skynex system is also likely cheaper than some other air defense systems.

In a press release in December 2022, Rheinmetall said it was supplying two Skynex air-defense systems worth around 182 million euros, or nearly $200 million, to an international partner.

By comparison, Patriot defense systems cost $1.1 billion each.

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