South Korea is making a smaller Taurus cruise missile that can be lifted by the lightweight FA-50
South Korean designers want to start production in 2 years after the start of work.
The South Korean aerospace corporation Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has signed an agreement with the Taurus-LIG Nex1 consortium to develop a smaller version of the KEBD 350 Taurus cruise missile and has already begun work in this direction.
It is hoped to launch the production of the new version of the CR at least 2 years after the start of work, although a period of 36-48 months is also possible. This is stated in the publication of the portal Janes.
It is noted that the designers from KAI want to make a smaller version of the Taurus missile so that the FA-50 aircraft could become its carrier, the characteristics of which do not allow this missile to be lifted in the standard configuration.
Therefore, it is assumed that the smaller version of the Taurus will have a launch weight of only 907 kilograms instead of 1400 kilograms, and the length of the hull should be reduced from 5.4 meters to 4.1 meters. The range and flight speed should remain in the same range – up to 500 kilometers and 900 km/h, respectively. But what will be the mass index of the warhead in this case is an open question.
Earlier, Defense Express reported that in case of Germany’s political decision to resume production of Taurus cruise missiles, the process will take approximately 1 year. At the same time, the most difficult links in this story will be explosives, electronics and the outer shell of the fuselage.
Also, at the end of October 2023, MBDA Deutchland published estimates that it will take up to 1.5 years to adapt the Taurus to our F-16s, while the Su-24M will take only up to 6 months.
