Drones are seen as an increasing threat due to their size, speed, agility, and use in swarms. DefendAir, previously known as the Small Anti-Drone Missile (SADM), is a specialised missile designed to counter this threat and will be integrated into the Skyranger 30 air defence vehicle as part of the Short- and Very Short-Range Protection (NNbS) project.
“DefendAir is indeed a game-changer in the field of drone defence. With DefendAir, Germany is purposefully building the most modern drone defence capabilities – a crucial contribution for Europe and NATO as well as closing the capability gap,” said Thomas Gottschild, Executive Group Director Strategy MBDA and Managing Director of MBDA Deutschland GmbH.
He added: “The system uses proven technologies from the Enforcer programme, which reduces development risk and ensures the fastest possible availability. As a contribution to the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI), DefendAir is already attracting strong interest from other partner nations.”
The system meets Germany’s national requirements by improving close and very close-range protection against new aerial threats. It also fits seamlessly into MBDA’s global portfolio, complementing systems such as Sky Warden, the Mistral family, and CAMM, and strengthening the company’s integrated air defence solutions.
MBDA had already begun preliminary development of the missile before the contract to enable rapid delivery and significantly improve drone defence. From 2023 to 2025, MBDA doubled its missile production across the group and plans to invest a further €2.4 billion by 2029 to expand output.
Source: MBDA Deutschland (press release).
