Why Ukraine wants Germany's Taurus missiles 03 15 2024

Table Of Content

• Ukraine Eyeing German Taurus KEPD 350 Cruise Missiles
• IAI to supply air defence radar to an undisclosed European country
• Variants
• BAE Systems to upgrade Mk 45 gun systems on Australian frigates
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• Nepo Influencers Are Thriving on Social Media Thanks to Their Famous Parents
• When will Ukraine receive the Taurus missiles?
• How many Taurus missiles could Germany deliver?

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.

Ukraine Eyeing German Taurus KEPD 350 Cruise Missiles

Taurus Systems has proposed a few variant Taurus missiles, including models designed to launch from the open rear ramp of cargo aircraft (Taurus T), or surface-launched from containers that could be plonked onto trucks or ships (Taurus CL). A mysterious Modular Payload model was possibly intended for electronic warfare or microwave-weapon payloads (Taurus MP or HPM). There’s also a reduced-mass variant (KEPD-150 Taurus-L) with smaller fuel supply and warhead, and a proposed anti-ship model. How effective the Taurus or Storm Shadows could be depend on how Ukraine would use them, such as targeting the supports of bridges or roadways, he said. Last week, German lawmakers called on the government to deliver further long-range weapons to Ukraine, but voted down an opposition call explicitly urging it to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles.

IAI to supply air defence radar to an undisclosed European country

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.

Variants

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.

Why Germany is rattled about sending its Taurus missile to Ukraine - POLITICO Europe

Why Germany is rattled about sending its Taurus missile to Ukraine.

Posted: Thu, 12 Oct 2023 07:00:00 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."

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.

In some political discussions, the range of the Taurus has been put at around 430 miles. Scholz’s remarks drew a sharp rebuke from opposition lawmakers of the Christian Democratic Union, who accused him of mistrusting Ukraine and disregarding the possibility local forces could eventually use the weapon entirely without German assistance. "We did that with Starstreak and Storm Shadow. Germany should now send their Taurus missile systems to Ukraine and join the UK and France." As many as 150 to 300 of the Bundeswehr's 600 Taurus missiles could quickly be ready for use.

German lawmakers reject motion to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine - Reuters

German lawmakers reject motion to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine.

Posted: Thu, 22 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

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.

How many Taurus missiles could Germany deliver?

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.

"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.

Ukraine could be on the cusp of getting Germany's Taurus long-range cruise missiles, possibly giving Kyiv the edge it needs to move its ongoing counteroffensive firmly into Russian-controlled Crimea. BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made clear Monday that he remains reluctant to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, pointing to a risk of his country becoming directly involved in the war. The blast and fragmentation capabilities eliminate the collateral damage to civil facilities near the target. The stand-off and precision capabilities of the missile and deployment range of more than 350km ensure maximum safety to the aircraft and crew. The high precision stand-off guided missile system can penetrate through dense air defence systems and destroy the hard and deeply buried stationary and semi-stationary military targets on ground.

This metal penetrator, weighing 400 kilograms (880 pounds), uses sensors to measure how much resistance it has to overcome. Taurus can penetrate several floors of a bunker before the actual warhead explodes. Taurus is used against what the German Air Force refers to as "high-value targets," which would include bunkers or command posts from which enemy troops control operations. When it reaches its target, the missile climbs steeply and then hits from above in a vertical nosedive.