Ukraine’s Taurus missile dream fades: Berlin halts production
Germany’s production of Taurus stealth missiles has abruptly halted due to the federal government’s decision not to place further orders. Currently, rules mandate that the manufacturer cannot independently produce these precision-guided munitions for storage. This crucial issue, concerning the highly effective air-to-ground guided missile, has been a topic of recent discussion in a Spiegel publication.
The Taurus missile operates by utilizing a carrier aircraft as the “first stage”, propelling it into flight. Thereafter, it achieves speeds up to 900 km/h, maintaining an almost ground-hugging altitude of 50 meters. This effectively helps the missile evade detection by the enemy’s operational radar. The farthest flight distance of the updated versions is roughly 500 kilometers, with the warhead containing up to 481 kg of explosives.
This situation has proved to be a significant hurdle for the country’s military industry, as shared by Thomas Gottschild, the leader of the company producing the Taurus. With the lack of utilization of existing resources, the workforce risks skill decay over time. Moreover, instead of generating profit, the halted production line incurs losses due to stagnation. This is in stark contrast to the principles upon which the capitalist world thrives.
