On October 11, the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) conducted live-fire drills involving the long-range air-to-surface Taurus cruise missile.
The RoKAF has fired this missile for the first time amid North Korea’s persistent nuclear and missile threats.
In the tests, F-15K fighter jets fired the Taurus missile, which flew 400 kilometers and successfully hit pre-designated targets in the Yellow Sea, according to the RoKAF officials.
Last, South Korea conducted a live-fire test as a show of force in response to North Korea’s sixth nuclear test in 2017.
F-16, F-35 failed to stop Taurus
In addition to the live-fire drills, the Air Force said it conducted exercises involving F-35A and F-16 fighter jets to intercept cruise missiles.
The drills came as North Korea has been ramping up tensions on the Korean Peninsula with its continued trash balloon campaign and rare disclosure of a uranium enrichment facility.
Meanwhile, Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo visited the 17th Fighter Wing in Cheongju, 112 kilometers south of Seoul, to inspect the unit’s readiness posture.
The base houses the F-35As, fifth-generation fighters with advanced radar-evading features, target detection, and precision-strike capabilities.
Kim called for efforts to enhance operational capabilities to flawlessly execute strategic missions while maintaining a posture to eliminate enemy threats in any situation promptly.
Taurus cruise missile
Germany’s Taurus KEPD-350 missile is considered one of the most modern weapon systems used by the German military, the Bundeswehr.
The missile is 5 meters long (16.4 feet), weighs 1.4 tons, and is fired by fighter jets.
It then travels up to 1,170 kilometers per hour (727 miles per hour)—almost the speed of sound—to find a target as far away as 500 kilometers (310 miles).
This long-range missile flies at an altitude of only 35 meters, which makes it almost impossible for radar systems to detect.
The missile is a Mobile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) Category II weapon designed to penetrate thick, hardened air defenses via a low-level terrain-following flight.
Day or night and in any weather, it neutralizes its targets through its highly effective 481 kg dual-stage warhead system, MEPHISTO.
Taurus KEPD 350 combines outstanding penetration of hard and deeply buried targets, blast and fragmentation of high-value point and area targets, and exceptional bridge-and-runway-target kill capacity.
The system remains the only stand-off missile programmable for effect at a specific pre-selected floor. This extraordinary feature is achieved by applying layer counting and void sensing technology.
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.
Ukraine also wants Taurus
The missile has been in the news for some time as Ukraine requested that Germany supply Taurus in its conflict with Russia.
But Berlin’s transfer of Taurus missiles to Ukraine is still under consideration.
Before this, Germany followed the U.S. lead in handing over the first Patriot air defense system in early 2023 and the long-anticipated battle tanks.
When Kyiv launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast, Berlin endorsed the operation.
Germany’s Defense Ministry said Ukraine is “free to choose” the weapons to use inside Russia for self-defense in compliance with international law.
Yet, Berlin continues to hold off Ukrainian requests to provide the last piece of the puzzle, the missiles that can target the Russian military in the rear.
President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that Germany’s refusal to provide Ukraine with long-range missiles is linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s nuclear saber-rattling.
“As I understand it, the chancellor says that Germany is not a nuclear state and that this (Taurus missiles) is the most powerful weapon system in Germany,” Ukraine’s president said in an interview with Bild.
In his recent comments, Putin claimed that giving Ukraine the green light to use long-range weapons against targets inside Russia would mean NATO was “at war” with Moscow. Russia has been constantly issuing threats that have failed to materialize.
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