War in Ukraine: the Taurus, these powerful German missiles that could reach the Crimean bridge

The situation is serious in Germany after the leak of a recording of more than 30 minutes between several high-ranking German officers discussing the possible use of long-range Taurus missiles in the war in Ukraine. These missiles have been requested by kyiv for months. And the federal government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz still refuses to deliver any.

France and the United Kingdom have for their part broken, and since last year, the red line of a delivery of long-range missiles to Ukraine with the sending of Scalp and Storm Shadow of Franco-British manufacture . Olaf Scholz justified it aside by warning of a risk of escalation, arguing that the Taurus required targeting support that Germany was not ready to provide in Ukraine.

“From my point of view, it would be something which would not be responsible if we participated in the same way [as the French and the British] in the management of the targeting” of these missiles, justified the German chancellor at the end of the February, warning of the risk that Germany would find itself “in some way involved in the war” directly.

The Taurus is one of the most modern missiles in the German Air Force. Embedded on an attack aircraft, such as Eurofighter, F-18, F-15 or Tornado, the weapon is capable of finding its target even at high altitude, at great distance and in bad weather conditions. Above all, the Taurus missile, weighing 1.5 tonnes, carries a warhead weighing more than 400 kg which can destroy a bunker.

Its great particularity is that it can, before exploding, penetrate deeply into a buried target, thanks to a programmable delayed detonation. The Taurus also has, according to its manufacturer, technology capable of detecting the number of layers and voids it must perforate in its target before exploding.

Finally, this missile, which can reach a speed of 800 km/h, has a range of 500 kilometers. If the Ukrainians had them, these missiles launched from the country's northeastern border could in theory reach the suburbs of Moscow. Ukrainian drones today can reach the Russian capital but can only carry a maximum load of around ten kilos of explosives. “With the Taurus, you can destroy the Kremlin and with it the seat of the Russian government,” warned a former advisor to Angela Merkel this Sunday in the columns of the Berliner Zeitung.

Above all, the Ukrainian army could target Crimea, and in particular the Kerch bridge, a valuable link which Russia uses to supply its forces. kyiv has already struck the famous Crimean bridge, without however succeeding in completely destroying it.

And the Taurus also has great stealth qualities which allow it, by operating at low altitude and according to its designers, to thwart the radars of Awacs aircraft as well as those of anti-aircraft batteries. In its modernized version, the Taurus would also have integrated a protection system against jamming and electronic warfare technologies which can today handicap the targeting of cruise missiles.

The Taurus has been equipping the German army since the 2010s. The Bundeswehr reportedly has 600 units, of which 150 are operational today according to liberal MP Marcus Faber, member of the Bundestag Defense Committee.

From 2016, it also equips South Korean F-15 aircraft. Spain has also placed an order for around forty units embarked on F/A-18 Hornets. Available only in its air-ground version, the Taurus can also be adapted to other fighters such as the Typhoon, the JAS 39 Gripen, or the American F-16 and F-35.

After the American Scalp, Storm Shadow and Atacms, Ukraine hopes one day to receive these long-range missiles manufactured in the West. If Germany is reluctant today, it is on the other hand in the process of studying an agreement according to which it would supply Taurus to the United Kingdom which would in return undertake to deliver Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine of a however less range of 250 km.