The recently established German company Skylance GmbH has successfully completed the first flight tests of the second generation of its DroneHammer missile, designed to shoot down drones.
The recently established German company Skylance GmbH has successfully completed the first flight tests of the second generation of its DroneHammer missile, designed to shoot down drones.
This was told to hartpunkt by Skylance CEO Philippe Bonet.
DroneHammer is a missile with an optical homing head and a pneumatic warhead, designed for the low-cost destruction of Class 1 drones (weighing less than 25 kg) at close range.
According to Bonet, DroneHammer has continued to improve over the past few months, so the current series of tests is being conducted using the MK 2 variant of the rocket. It weighs about 700g, has an overall length of about 70 cm and an outer diameter of 70 mm. But the company is aiming to reduce its dimensions even further, to 60 cm in length and 60 mm in diameter.
Currently, testing of individual components is being carried out, the functionality of the main system, optics and warhead is being checked. In addition, the control system has been digitized, which allows you to simulate and check any changes in parameters in the digital twin. Skylance plans to conduct more tests, and in the first quarter of 2026, it is planned to finalize the development design.
The DroneHammer concept was originally developed by two German companies, e-Wolf GmbH and WARGdrones GmbH, and was first presented to the public at the end of May 2025 at the AFCEA exhibition in Bonn. However, the development will be carried out by Skylance GmbH, a company founded only last week.
It is expected that one DroneHammer missile in mass production will cost several thousand euros. This will be achieved through the consistent use of inexpensive, and partly unconventional, technologies and components. For example, the missile is guided by a simple optical sensor in the nose of the missile — for this, the target must be actively illuminated by a laser.
The DroneHammer warhead has a 10 m diameter thanks to a carbon dioxide warhead that accelerates fragments near the target. The effect is similar to a shotgun blast from close range. According to Bonet, the warhead’s effectiveness against Class 1 drones has already been successfully proven in static tests.
DroneHammer also has a solid-propellant rocket engine, providing an intercept speed of over 500 km/h and an effective range of over 600 m. The intercept duration is 3 seconds. The system is designed primarily for combating drones at absolute close range.
According to the developers, the anti-drone missile can be used on a wide range of launch platforms. In addition to being used from the shoulder, the DroneHammer can also be mounted on ground platforms and interceptor drones.
