Pandur SHORAD to debut at AUSA Global Force 2025

The Pandur SHORAD (short-range air defence) vehicle from General Dynamics Land Systems is set to make its public debut during the AUSA Global Force exhibition, which will be held from the 25th – 27th of March in Alabama, according to a 20th March press release.

The SHORAD variant is built from the Pandur EVO 6×6 armoured vehicle with the RIwP (Reconfigurable Integrated-weapons Platform – pronounced ‘rip’) from Moog. The vehicle is positioned for the US Army’s Infantry Brigades, the press release states, which require lighter vehicles than those used by their counterparts in the armoured brigades.

The same turret was selected to meet the US Army’s Initial Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD) requirement, for which it is mounted on a Stryker 8×8 and used by the Stryker armoured brigades. That vehicle is now referred to as Sergeant Stout, and has been refined from its initial configuration including Hellfire and Stinger missiles, to carry two pods of Stinger missiles. 

The Pandur SHORAD variant carries the same turret configuration, with the M230LF 30 mm cannon mounted centrally and a pod of four Stingers either side of the cannon. The M230LF provides an effective response against small drones when armed with the XM1211 proximity fuzed round. However, regular 30 mm ammunition, which would need to directly hit the drone to detonate, is much less effective as the drone can move a lot in a short space of time. A proximity fuze is therefore very important for cannon-based defence against drones, which increases the cost. Nevertheless, it is much cheaper to use the cannon than fire a missile. 

The Pandur SHORAD does not appear to be fitted with the Multi-Hemispheric Radars that can be seen on the Sgt Stout vehicles, being instead fitted with the L3 MX series electro-optical/infrared sight, which is also standard on the Stryker variant. However, an IM-SHORAD battery was expected to deploy with an AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel radar as its primary sensor, giving long-range detection and target cuing. 

Another SHORAD variant of the Pandur was presented in 2024, armed with a Rheinmetall Air Defence Skyranger 30 turret. An order for 36 of those vehicles followed shortly after with delivery set to begin in 2026.

Calibre comment

The growth in SHORAD systems reflects the challenges posed by drones and loitering munitions. Previous air defence concepts had to contend with drones as a reconnaissance platform – indicating occasional use, rather than persistent – as well as pop-up threats like attack helicopters. The remaining threats, like fast air, missiles etc., would be handled by friendly air superiority fighters and medium range air defence systems. However, manoeuvre formations now have to ensure that they can provide some form of protection to most of their units as they move through a battlespace. Air superiority fighters remain critical, but an additional layer has been added to the needs of armoured formations.