According to Defense Express, Ukraine’s Armed Forces have been using the Skynex air defense artillery system since spring 2023, though footage of its work remains extremely rare. Thanks to the Air Command West of the Ukrainian Air Force, however, it is now possible to see how many rounds Skynex needs to destroy a Shahed drone.A video from August 21, 2025, recorded during a Russian attack, shows the system in action. Typically, Skynex fires a burst of about 10 rounds to neutralize such a target. In this case, however, the Shahed was destroyed with the very first shot — the remaining rounds served only as confirmation hits.Skynex employs Rheinmetall’s Ahead programmable ammunition, designed to detonate near the target and destroy it with fragments. Each 35×228 mm round bursts directly in front of the drone, releasing 152 tungsten projectiles — precisely what is captured on the footage.Rheinmetall itself has previously demonstrated this principle of operation, and the Ukrainian video confirms the system works in real combat exactly as intended by its developers.It is also worth noting that Skynex is not a budget solution, even though it falls under the category of anti-aircraft artillery. A contract signed with Italy in January 2025 revealed that a complete Skynex system — including four 35 mm gun units, a sensor block, and a command post — costs €73 million.