Germany's Scholz explains his reluctance to send Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine
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Moscow has repeatedly warned against the delivery of weapon systems such as the Taurus or the US ATACMS to Ukraine. Should Scholz supply Taurus missiles to Ukraine, the most important impact would simply be expanding Ukraine’s long-range cruise missile stockpile, which it must use very selectively given limited quantities built. According to Fabian Hoffman—an expert on missile technology at the University of Oslo—Ukraine’s Storm Shadow/SCALP inventory will likely peter out between October of 2023 and January of 2024, depending on how many France and England donated. Upon being launched, a Taurus’s Tri-tech navigation system fuses multiple sensors and reference libraries to continually track its position and correct its course. This allows Taurus to execute precision strikes even when GPS signals are being jammed, as Russia is doing with increasing frequency to reduce accuracy of GPS-guided rockets given to Ukraine. Until now, the administration of Chancellor Olaf Scholz has opposed giving long-range strike weapons to Ukraine on the grounds they could be used to strike targets deep inside Russian territory, potentially leading to dangerous escalation.
Taurus KEPD 350 Long-Range Air-to-Surface Missile
It’s unclear how many of the remainder could be refurbished back into service, and how quickly that could happen. The range of the Taurus missiles is touted as in excess of 310 miles, but some parliamentary discussions have suggested its real range could be 430 miles, Hoffman said. Officially Storm Shadows can reach around 155 miles, although experts suggest this may be lower than its true capability. Dzhankoi is home to one of "the most important Russian military airfields in Crimea," Britain's Ministry of Defence has previously said, as well as being a "key road and rail junction" vital for supplying Russia's troops in southern Ukraine.
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Ukraine Gets Taurus Missile Update - Newsweek
Ukraine Gets Taurus Missile Update.
Posted: Mon, 11 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Germany has not approved deploying the weapons despite months of pressure from Ukraine. The programmable fuse is designed with layer counting and void sensing technology. It was developed by TDW Gesellschaft für verteidigungstechnische Wirksysteme. Taurus KEPD 350 (kinetic energy penetration destroyer) is a long-range air-to-surface missile developed and manufactured by Taurus Systems. The company is a joint venture between LFK-Lenkflugkörpersysteme (EADS/MBDA) (67%) and Saab-Bofors Dynamics (33%). However, in late June, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Germany won't give these missiles to Ukraine.
UK-supplied Brimstone operational in Ukraine
The TAURUS KEPD 350’s design philosophy revolves around the concept of stealth and evasion, ensuring its effectiveness in striking fortified positions while minimizing exposure to hostile air defenses. Crafted with meticulous attention to detail, its rectangular body is constructed from advanced composite materials, strategically avoiding sharp interfaces that could compromise its radar cross-section. However, it is the ingenious integration of a special radio-absorbent coating that elevates its stealth capabilities, rendering it even less detectable to enemy radar systems.
The second warhead "explodes in the pillar, which then of course maximizes the destructiveness and can really cause significant damage to a bridge." The four military officers discuss how Taurus missiles could be used by Kyiv against invading Russian forces and how Germany would need to support Ukraine technically. Equipped with stealth technology that makes them less visible to detection, the missiles have a range of up to 500 kilometers (310 miles), which would help Ukraine to put pressure on Russia in the Black Sea and elsewhere. In fact, the German officers discussed sending the Taurus missiles only in theory.
Bulldoze all buried targets
The missile was developed by Taurus Systems GmbH - a joint venture between MBDA Deutschland and the Swedish company Saab Bofors Dynamics AB. The development of the missile began in 1998, went at an accelerated pace and already in 2004 the KEPD 350 missile went on flight tests and was adopted for service. "Every time Russia strikes civilians & breaks international law by targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine there needs to be a response," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Those calling for its delivery to Ukraine say that with a range of just over 310 miles, it will allow the targeting of Russian military infrastructure far behind the frontlines. Before the actual warhead explodes, a charge blasts through the bunker's outer walls.
On Sunday Nils Schmid, from the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SDP), told German daily Der Tagesspiegel he did "not rule out" sending systems like the Taurus "in alliance with the Americans." By the government’s own accounting, roughly €28 billion worth of equipment has already been provided or is earmarked over the next few years. The TAURUS KEPD 350 rocket has a supporting body, a slightly extended top-opening wing and a cruciform tail fin with controls. In order to reduce radar visibility, the rectangular housing is made of composite materials, has no sharp edges at the interface points and is covered with a radio absorbent material. On August 8, 2002, the German Federal Bureau for Defence Technology and Procurement concluded a contract with Taurus Systems GmbH for the supply of 600 TAURUS missiles and 14 training missiles for the Air Force (see photo).
Taurus Versus Storm Shadow
Notably, the air intake channels sport a curved design, a tactical innovation aimed at concealing the engine turbine’s signature from prying ground-based radars. Ukraine could be inching closer to receiving long-range Taurus cruise missiles from Germany in what would be a boost to Kyiv's ability to strike critical far-off Russian targets. With "Storm Shadow" from the UK and the "Scalp" cruise missiles from France, the Ukrainian army already has similar weapon systems — but with a shorter range. Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London, U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine war, the U.S. military, weapons systems and emerging technology. She joined Newsweek in January 2023, having previously worked as a reporter at the Daily Express, and is a graduate of International Journalism at City, University of London. Germany is now the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the United States and is further stepping up its support this year.
Bayraktar TB3 unmanned combat aerial vehicle
The order for Spanish Air Force was placed in November 2004 and deliveries were completed by August 2010. The air-to-ground guided Taurus KEPD 350 missile system has an overall weight of 1,400kg. Navigational accuracy lies at the heart of any successful precision strike, and the TAURUS KEPD 350 delivers on this front through its Tri-tech navigation system.
Apart from small differences, including how the two warheads are designed and the overall range, they would offer Ukraine the same batch of capabilities. Both types of air-launched cruise missiles, used by the German, Spanish and South Korean militaries, are designed to strike hardened and buried targets. Taurus cruise missiles can be armed with various types of warheads, allowing them to effectively target different kinds of objectives on the ground. The warhead options include the MEPHISTO tandem concrete breaker, a lighter version of it, cassette warheads, non-lethal warheads, and high-power microwave warheads. With this range, Taurus missiles can destroy various structures like bunkers, protected communication centers, airfields, ports, bridges, ammunition storage areas, and even ships.
Thus, donating Taurus would result in a greater ability for Ukraine to sustain or even intensify deep strikes to degrade Russian logistics, command, and control in support of Ukraine’s slow-moving counter offensive. It can dispense multiple 35-pound STABO rocket-propelled bombs designed to shatter concrete runways, or SMArt 155 parachute-deploying anti-tank bomblets which scan for armored vehicles below using an radar and infrared sensors. Meanwhile, Taurus has a range “in excess of” 310 miles—by some accounts, it may be as high as 430 miles. This would make it easy to comprehensively hit Russian bases across Crimea and eastern Ukraine, and allow Ukrainian Su-24s to launch further back in Ukrainian controlled airspace for their own safety. But the biggest difference is range, thanks to Taurus’s more powerful and fuel-efficient turbofan engine. Storm Shadow officially has a range of 155 miles, though other sources hint that the actual figure may be more like 250 or 350 miles.
Two missiles can be simultaneously armed on the Tornado (F/A-18) and Eurofighter aircraft. Our advanced TAURUS KEPD 350 is an incomparable modular stand-off missile system. It is capable of precision strikes on stationary and semi-stationary targets, including bunkers and other hardened, deeply buried targets, as well as high-value point and area targets, such as large radar stations. The missile is powered by a Williams WJ38-15 turbofan engine that allows it to fly at speeds of Mach 0.95 (about 1,150 km/h or 715 mph) at low altitudes of 30 to 70 m (98 to 230 ft) above the ground. The missile has a length of 5.1 m (16 ft 9 in), a diameter of 1.08 m (3 ft 7 in), a wingspan of 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in), and a weight of 1,400 kg (3,100 lb).
Said in May it was sending Storm Shadows, a promise followed by France in mid-July. Experts quickly said the missiles would allow Ukraine to strike further into Russian-held territory, complicating Moscow's air defense plans. The recording makes clear that the German government has not given its OK for the delivery of the cruise missiles sought by Ukraine. Germany is the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the United States and is further stepping up support this year. Last week, he said sending the missiles would pose a risk of his country becoming directly involved in the war.
In August, there was news that the Bundestag seemed to agree to give Ukraine the Taurus missiles. A few days later, a German news source, Spiegel, said Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to modify the missiles so Ukraine can't hit Russian territory, excluding Crimea controlled by Russia. Taurus missiles were made for different military uses, like attacking important military and infrastructure targets. The 16-foot-long Taurus missile has a range in excess of 310 miles, which is around double the Storm Shadow, also made by European missile manufacturer MBDA. However, experts have previously told Newsweek that the true strike range of the Storm Shadow could exceed its official number. The missile can be equipped with passive protection means against air defense, including IR traps and dipole reflectors.
The optimal distance to the target in case of a detonation of the BC cumulative charge is determined with the help of laser rangefinders installed in the forward part of the missile. The main explosive charge is a high-strength 2.3 m long body, the shape of which is optimized for piercing concrete and heavy ground rocks. The weight of the blast charge together with the hull is 400 kg, the total weight of the BC is 485 kg. Spain bought 43 Tauruses for its FA-18 Hornet jets for €57 million, while South Korea purchased 260 of a version called the KEPD-350K with a variant GPS receiver and anti-jamming system. South Korea and Germany are also working on a smaller-size KEPD-350K2 variant that could be carried on the former’s FA-50 Golden Eagle light fighter jets. Of course, that could enable strikes deeper into Russian territory including central Moscow.
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