Scholz delays decision on providing Taurus missiles to Ukraine: BILD names reasons

German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz is in no hurry to make a decision on providing Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles. The head of the German government is afraid that Ukrainian troops will start using this weapon to strike the territory of the aggressor country Russia.

Also the decision on the transfer of Taurus from Germany may depend on repeated internal debates in Berlin about the alleged need for negotiations with the Kremlin. This is reported by the publication BILD.

Despite the fact that Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock and Finance Minister Christian Lindner have spoken in favor of the delivery of the missiles, Chancellor Olaf Scholz is in no hurry to make a positive decision.

In addition to the fear of using Taurus missiles on Russian territory, Scholz found several other arguments why the arms transfer has not yet taken place. On the one hand, the German government wants to wait for U.S. President Joe Biden's decision on ATACMS missiles, but on the other hand, Scholz argues that Taurus missiles will only make sense after F-16 fighter jets are delivered to Ukraine.

However, Taurus missiles can also be used with existing fighters after appropriate modification. Comparable French and British Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles are already in use by Ukrainian forces.

At the same time, Ukrainian officials note that more capabilities are needed right now to attack Russian positions and command centers in Ukraine. In particular, Taurus missiles will help make further progress in liberating the territories.

TAURUS KEPD 350 is a long-range air-to-surface subsonic cruise missile designed for precision strikes and engaging targets highly defended by enemy air defenses.

It is known from open sources that Germany ordered 600 such missiles between 2005 and 2010. The current market value of one missile is about $1.2 million.

It is a missile weighing 1400 kg and 5 meters long, with an official range of 500 km. That is, by and large, it is a kind of German-Swedish analog of the French-British Storm Shadow missile.

The basic model of TAURUS missile is equipped with a tandem concrete-piercing warhead of MEPHISTO (Multi-Effect Penetrator, Highly Sophisticated and Target Optimized) type. The leading charge of the warhead is a shaped charge, while the main charge is a high-explosive charge housed in a high-strength casing whose shape is optimized for penetrating concrete and heavy soil. The weight of the high-explosive charge together with the casing is 400 kg, while the total weight of the warhead is 480 kg.

The missile has a flight altitude of 30-70 meters and a maximum speed of Mach 0.60-0.95. The missile is guided by several systems: IBN (image-based navigation), INS (inertial navigation system), TRN (terrain-referenced navigation) and MIL-GPS (global positioning system).

We shall remind you that Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said that Ukraine will still receive Taurus cruise missiles from Germany. He hopes that the overall process will last less than a year.

Earlier, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner during a visit to Kiev supported the provision of Taurus missiles to Ukraine. He expressed hope that our army would soon receive this armament.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock also indirectly expressed support for the transfer of Taurus for the AFU, saying that Berlin "considers all wishes" of Kyiv, and Russia's full-scale invasion shows that "every day matters."

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