Rheinmetall demonstrates Skyspotter C-UAV system

Rheinmetall's Skyspotter system displayed during the GBAD Demo Days event in Finland in November 2025. (Rheinmetall)

Rheinmetall presented its counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (C-UAV) system called Skyspotter during the Ground-based Air Defence (GBAD) Demo Days event, which took place from 25 to 27 November at Lohtaja firing and training area in central Finland, according to a company press release on 16 December.

GBAD Demo Days 2025 focused on countering small NATO Class 1 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and was hosted by Finland's Inspector of Ground-based Air Defence Colonel Mano-Mikael Nokelainen.

During the demonstration at the Lohtaja firing range, Rheinmetall demonstrated its Skyspotter C-UAV system, several passive emitter locator sensors, and a specialised command-and-control (C2) shelter. The Skyspotter system mounted on a Rheinmetall HX truck was presented on-site to showcase a “rapidly deployable version of the system”, according to the Rheinmetall release.

Described by Rheinmetall as a C-UAV based on a modular concept, Skyspotter includes S-band and X-band radars with a 5 km and 7.5 km range respectively, according to the company. It has an electro-optic (EO) verification system with daylight and thermal cameras, as well as a laser rangefinder. Jammers can be integrated with the EO verification system.

Skyspotter has the capability to track and identify targets using artificial intelligence (AI) in a “highly cluttered background”, according to Rheinmetall. “Skyspotter is designed to protect critical infrastructure and secure large areas against drone attacks,” according to the company's release.