Taurus KEPD 350 Wikipedia

Table Of Content

• Germany’s Scholz explains his reluctance to send Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine
• WHAT IS GERMANY’S POSITION ON SENDING THE MISSILES TO UKRAINE?
• What Melania Trump Allegedly Told Donald Ahead of Presidency Revealed
• IRIS-T Air-to-Air Guided Missile, Germany
• Why Ukraine wants Germany's Taurus missiles
• TAURUS KEPD 350

PIMPF is equipped with a lithium-ion power supply, weighs about 5kg, is placed on the bottom wall of the BC case and can withstand overloads up to 10000g. The BC detonation system can be programmed to detonate either air or underground, making it possible to destroy ground targets as well. In the case of an aerial detonation, both charges are initiated simultaneously. In November 2004, Spain became the first foreign client to order KEPD 350 missiles for the Spanish Air Force's EF-18A (C.15) and Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft. The main contractor for the supply and integration of TAURUS missiles with EF-18A and Eurofighter aircraft is SENER. On June 24, 2005, the Spanish government approved the purchase of 43 TAURUS KEPD 350 missiles for equipping the EF-18A and Eurofighter aircraft.

Germany’s Scholz explains his reluctance to send Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine

The Taurus KEPD-350 missile, which Germany may send to Ukraine, is considered to be one of the most modern weapon systems in use by the German military, the Bundeswehr. Germany began developing Taurus in the mid-1990s after a failed attempted cooperation over France’s Apache anti-runway missile, which evolved into the French-British Storm Shadow. Taurus was intended for compatibility with the DWS-24 (renamed DWS-39) weapon dispenser that Germany developed with Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors for its Tornado IDS strike jets. Complete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders.

WHAT IS GERMANY’S POSITION ON SENDING THE MISSILES TO UKRAINE?

That unspecific formulation allowed government lawmakers to advocate sending Taurus missiles, or not. Britain and France have long since announced that they were sending Storm Shadow and Scalp long-range missiles, respectively, to Ukraine. Taurus Systems conducted free flight tests on the missile system in Denel Overberg Test Range, South Africa, in November 2002. The test was led by Wehrtechnische Dienststelle 61 and the German Air Force.

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However, it is understood that Ukraine has agreed not to strike within recognized Russian territory, or politically sensitive Russian targets, with these long-range weapons. Kyiv requested the German-Swedish Taurus cruise missiles just before its counteroffensive kicked off, but Berlin is yet to make a decision on furnishing Ukraine with the missiles. Ukraine has asked its Western backers for long-range strike weapons in military aid packages, and both London and Paris have committed the Anglo-French Storm Shadow, or SCALP, missiles in recent months. Instead, they want Taurus missiles for striking Russian ammunition depots behind the front line and for attacking resupply routes, like the Kerch Bridge, that fuel Moscow’s assault. Ukraine has been pushing Germany to supply the long-range Taurus missiles which would give its forces more deep-strike capabilities. The Taurus’s MEPHISTO warhead may be more effective at piercing and shattering bridge spans.

For the typical pop-up attack, a Taurus missile lunges upward on the final approach, giving the IR-imaging sensor in Taurus’s nose a better vantage to search below for a structure matching a 3D model of its pre-assigned target. Once identified, the missile dives at 90 degrees towards the target’s roof. If the missile can’t find its target, it’s programmed to crash somewhere it won’t cause collateral damage. Both are made by European missile manufacturer, MDBA, were developed in tandem and have almost identical uses Hoffmann said.

Why Ukraine wants Germany's Taurus missiles

"We are not the only ones not delivering. Our American allies are not supplying these cruise missiles either. Ours have a special range," he said. The basic model of the TAURUS KEPD 350 is equipped with a MEPHISTO (Multi-Effect Penetrator, High Sophisticated and Target Optimised) combat unit. The MEPHISTO tandem concrete piercing combat unit (481 kg) was developed by the French-German company TDA/TDW. The leading charge of the combat unit is a 0.36 m cumulative diameter, 0.53 m long.

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Should Germany agree to send Taurus missiles, Berlin would likely demand a similar guarantee, Hoffman told Newsweek on Monday. Therefore, he added, a range of up to 430 miles would be de-facto restricted to operating within Ukrainian territory. The use of TRN and IBN autonomous guidance systems allows the missile to be used without support for satellite guidance systems, among other things. In this case, guidance is provided by inertial navigation system, which is periodically corrected in flight according to TRN and IBN data. On approaching the target, a thermal imaging head is activated, which provides guidance to the missile in the final part of the flight. TGSN has a focal plane matrix of sensitive elements (256 x 256) of indium antimonide and provides automatic target recognition.

TAURUS KEPD 350

But ultimately, "these attacks on bridges using Storm Shadow have not been terribly effective, it seems," Hoffmann told Newsweek. Although it is difficult to tell from photos and available footage, Storm Shadow strikes appear to have damaged the bridges, but not taken them out for long periods of time. Russia has blamed several attacks on bridges in the annexed Crimean peninsula on Ukraine, and specifically on U.K.-supplied Storm Shadow missiles. On Sunday, the Russian-backed governor of Ukraine's southern Kherson region said Kyiv had fired 12 Storm Shadow missiles at two bridges linking mainland Ukraine with Crimea. Unverified footage showed holes in the bridge, with Russian media and officials reporting temporarily paused traffic. Russia has also accused Ukraine of attacking the Kerch Bridge, connecting Russia to Crimea, with naval drones.

Germany faces a political crisis over sending Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine - POLITICO Europe

Germany faces a political crisis over sending Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.

Posted: Tue, 20 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

The government in Berlin has been reluctant to provide Ukraine with weapons that could attack targets on Russian territory, fearing a further escalation of the war. That said, Taurus’s expanded range also would improve Ukraine’s strike options across Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk, making it impossible for Russia to keep depots and command posts out of range while on occupied soil. Russia has repeatedly tried and failed to destroy those Su-24s on the ground. The KEPD-350 is broadly comparable to the Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG stealth cruise missile developed jointly by the UK and France, which began supplying Storm Shadows to Ukraine in spring and summer, breaking the taboo on long-range weapon transfers. "We are still of the opinion that right now this is not our top priority," Pistorius said on Thursday. "We are not the only ones not delivering. Our American allies are not supplying these cruise missiles either. Ours have a special range. The time for us to make a decision has not yet come."

TAURUS KEPD 350 is a product of TAURUS Systems, a joint venture between Saab and MBDA Deutschland. The partnership includes the system’s development, production and global marketing. The Taurus KEPD 350 is currently in service with Germany, Spain, and South Korea. The missile has been tested and evaluated by several other countries, such as Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, India, and Turkey. The Taurus KEPD 350 is a product of Taurus Systems GmbH, a joint venture between MBDA Deutschland GmbH and Saab Bofors Dynamics.

So far, Germany has resisted the calls to send the missiles, with former UK defence secretary Ben Wallace among those urging Berlin to provide Ukraine with the weapons. The Bundeswehr's Taurus are designed to be used with Tornado jets, and the missile, which was developed by the European missile company MBDA, would first have to be adapted to the fighter jets used by Ukraine's Air Force. This long-range missile flies at an altitude of only 35 meters, which makes it almost impossible for radar systems to detect.

Unofficially, German officials are ready to give their missiles only when Washington officially says they'll give their long-range ATACMS. There are rumors that Taurus missiles were possibly utilized during NATO military actions in the Yugoslav conflict and in Afghanistan, although these claims remain unverified. The only actual combat engagement of these missiles is linked to a test operation by the Spanish army in South Africa in May 2009. Furthermore, South Korean forces deployed Taurus missiles in 2016 to establish a preemptive defense system against North Korean missiles. One special thing about them is that they can fly long distances even without GPS.