The Taurus KEPD 350 cruise missile. By Wikimedia user (axesofevil2000)
A spokesperson for the German Ministry of Defense confirmed that Ukraine has submitted a request asking Berlin to supply long-range Taurus cruise missiles, Der Spiegel reported on May 26.
The Taurus KEPD 350 is a Swedish-German low-observable, air-launched cruise missile that is manufactured in Germany by Taurus Systems.
The missile utilizes a GPS-aided inertial navigation system backed by a terrain contour matching system. The same thermographic camera used for terrain navigation helps the missile home on its target during final approach using image matching.
The double 500-kilogram warhead of the missile features a precharge and initial penetrating charge that are designed to defeat hardened underground targets.
German parliamentarian of the Christian Democratic Union Roderich Kiesewetter has already urged the government to provide Ukraine with the long-range missile.
“Ukraine’s partners must now go ‘all-in’ and provide Ukraine with everything that Ukraine can use in combined arms combat and that is permissible under international law,” he said in an interview with RND on May 23. “Taurus cruise missiles with a range of up to 400 to 500 kilometers would be a very helpful contribution from Germany.”
According to Kiesewetter, out of 600 missiles purchased around ten years ago, Germany currently has around 150 operational ones.
The Taurus is comparable to the Anglo-French Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missile, which the United Kingdom supplied to Ukraine early on in May. Kiev forces have already launched several attacks with the missile against military and civilian targets in the Donbass region.
Ukraine reportedly received an export version of the Storm Shadow with the range downgraded from 560 kilometers to just 250.
There is no downgraded version of the Taurus, which means Germany will either supply Ukraine with the original version that can in theory reach the Russian capital, Moscow, or spend time and effort to cut down the range of the missile.
This is not the only issue that could prevent Germany from supplying the missile or delay deliveries. Much efforts will be needed to integrate the missile into Ukrainian Air Force Soviet-era warplanes. Only Su-24 fighter bombers, which are limited in numbers, will likely be capable of carrying the 1,400-kilogram missile. These bombers have already been modified to deploy the Storm Shadow which has a similar weight.
A single Taurus costs € 950,000, according to old estimates. This means that Germany will have to spend nearly 100 million to supply just 100 missiles to Ukraine.
Eventually, the German government will likely agree to arm Ukraine with Taurus missiles to avoid internal and external pressure. The Russian military will likely use the same tactics it is currently using against the Storm Shadow to deal with the Taurus, which includes targeting carrier warplanes from long ranges and attempting to jam and intercept the missile on the medium and short ranges.
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bomb germany if they dare to deliver. not the german people, but the german shipping agent carrying the missiles. so that it will not even arrive in ukronazistan.
shouldn’t they do the same with all the shippings?
this exactly what they should have done from day 1, and war would be over by june 2022
new israel wants nuttyahoo to referee? bwa hahahahahah
west’s hackers are at it hear downvoting.
the us dropped more bombs on laos than it did on germany and japan combined. this was ostensibly done to interdict the vietnamese logistical train. perhaps the german state needs a taste of that kind of practical approach.
don’t understand why the german government keeps giving in to all those subsequent war-prolonging requests made by kyiv… looks like they have no backbone and will of their own … and just acts also against what the german people they represent wound want in these cases…
the german government is a subsidiary of the eu animal farm and is german in name only.
alemania en recesion y queriendo entrar en una caida en espiral
that’s exactly what they are , unfortunately , rich , but nothing but slaves
more like amricunt slaves.
ussan occupied germanistan has nothing to say in matters of anglozionazi wars
germany has no native government. they’re governed from washington…
yes it’s the reality
i think though it will not happen , because the masters in washington will not allow the move (too dangerous for the hegemon itself), but alone the try shows how weak and subordinate europe acts. i can imagine the german government would be completely lost if some day they would have to decide something really independent. it’s pure slave mentality.
the eussr death wish is obvious as the germanistan regime blindly marches against mother russia for the second time, to its certain destruction. the smart people with money are packing their bags and getting the hell out of urupp. the anglozionazi empire of shit is going down and it will take billions of sheeple with it. last chance for mr bear to rip the rotten ussan albatross from the scrawny neck of the euro peon retards before said retards willfully start ww3.
will the oligarchic nazi germanistan filth start their third and final world war? are the greens insane and the germanistan hollow man in the empty suit even more deranged that the geriatric cadaver-in-chief in slumville, ussa?
kepd-350 isn’t anything like storm shadow it’s much more high-tech and a bunker buster for multiple levels. it’s resistant to electronic countermeasures, it can use gps but it also uses inertial navigation. it is very precise and will hit the intended target using camera for image matching, it can even abort the mission if the desired target isn’t available anymore. kepd-350 is next gen compared to storm shadow which makes it so much more.
russia should think out wiping out the home of this kiesewetter us polit-whore.
they might just think about going “all-in” too.
does germany think that the russian long range cruise missiles wont make it to germany ? this is insanity.. lets kill everybody on the planet.
germany has fallen into recession. until now it was belligerent but now olaf scholes wants negotiations with russia. russia should not pay heed to him as he was hostile as long as his economy was fine. now when economy is ruined, he wants talks.
for the last three months, western media is saying that counteroffensive is coming. but it never comes. no western media is asking zelensky why the counteroffensive is never starting.
this guy doesn’t get it. this show lack of maturity on zelensky’s part. irrespective of the type of weapons that ukraine gets it’s hand on. russia sees it and destroys it. oooooj, booohoooo, give me f16, give hmars, give long range missiles..gimme, gimme, gimme . shit!!! i am bored.
so, kiev nazis want fight to the last ukrainian? i am fine with that. take jens holmo with you. put him on the meat grinder too. or is he a coward?!
the uk with its du shells, currently spreading radiation all over poland and killing off the beaver in ukraines rivers and their storm shadow, they should have been made an example of. i wonder how much the rest of the world really like london?
london is on notice. not only do those banking jews think they run the world, but they also think they are untouchable. they are not. and they should understand that fact.
long range? that sounds ominous. better start outfitting your fallout shelter.
ak dôjde k takýmto dodávkam rakiet, tak rf by už mohla začať konať!!! toto je už priame ohrozenie suverenity rf!!!
russia should have a reciprocating agreement with all of kukraine s backers.
one effective way to counter the taurus cruise missiles would be to destroy the taurus systems plant in schrobenhausen.
looks like the dillweed downvote army is here lol
we all know what a bunch losers thhey are. supporting a loss cause. go russia go😂🇷🇺
ukraine has submitted a request ?sure they did . i doubt they were even aware of the missile’s existence. these god damn germans are asking for it . the vassal states are daring each other … who will who further. keep it up , when the russians finally hit back , they will hit back hard hard.