“Too long-range”: Germany explains its refusal to transfer Taurus missiles to Ukraine
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that he sees no urgent need to provide long-range missiles to Ukraine. He emphasized that the United States also supports this position.
Ukraine has not received Taurus missiles from Germany because they have a “special range”. The United States also refused to provide long-range missiles. This was stated by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, Tagesschau reports.
Pistorius commented on the refusal to transfer Taurus missiles with “special range” to Ukraine, emphasizing that the United States also does not provide Ukraine with long-range missiles.
He emphasized that Germany plays a leading role in providing support to Ukraine in the areas of air defense, engineering and armored vehicles, as well as in conducting exercises.
“This is our first priority, our core competence,” he explained.
For this reason, Pistorius sees no urgent need to provide Taurus missiles to Ukraine.
What is known about Taurus long-range missiles
This is an air-to-ground cruise missile designed for high-precision strikes and defeating highly protected and buried targets. Taurus is a direct competitor to the Storm Shadow cruise missile, a joint Anglo-French development.
In fact, the Taurus missile is an analog of the British Storm Shadows, their differences are very minor. Both types of missiles can be used very flexibly, but the range of the Taurus is slightly longer.
Characteristics of the missile:
- maximum firing range: 350 (150 for KEPD-150) km;
- flight speed: 0.6-0.95 М;
- CWT: 3 м;
- starting weight: 1360 kg;
- weight of the warhead: 481 kg.
On May 23, a representative of the German CDU and retired colonel Roderich Kiesewetter said that Germany should provide Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles with a range of 400-500 kilometers.
