war in Ukraine
Taurus cruise missile: That’s why Kiev absolutely wants the German bunker buster
The delivery of the Taurus would remove the previous range limitation.
© Taurs GmbH / PR
A Ukrainian breakthrough at the front is currently unlikely. Kiev now wants to hit the Russian supply routes and magazines. To do this, they need cruise missiles. The range of the Taurus is over 500 kilometers, so far this has been taboo.
air-to-ground weapon
Storm Shadow and Taurus aren’t launched from the ground, they are launched from planes. In the case of Ukraine, by converted SU-24s belonging to the 7th Brigade. A jet can carry two missiles at a time. The increased range of the Taurus would have two advantages for Ukraine. The jets could release the missiles accordingly further away from the target. You can therefore keep more distance to the front and to the Russian air defenses. On the other hand, they could also attack targets deep in the Russian hinterland. A scenario that has so far deterred Western supporters. For this reason, the range of all delivered weapons is limited. Actually, the necessary jet is the Achilles’ heel of such systems. But so far the Russians have not been able to shoot down the SU-24. Presumably the Russians cannot detect the jets approaching. Their airport was attacked several times, but without resounding success.
Constant replenishment is necessary
In principle, as the war progresses, Ukraine regularly needs further missiles in order to be able to continue the attacks on bridges and Russian logistics. While the Russians cannot destroy the planes, they can intercept the missiles themselves. Twelve Storm Shadows are said to have been used in the last attack on the bridges connecting Cherson and Crimea. Most did not reach the goal. In order to be successful, Kiev needs to use a lot of rockets and stockpiles are depleted accordingly. The Bundeswehr has procured a total of 600 Taurus cruise missiles. There are different statements about the number of usable systems. Probably about half is ready for use and the other missiles can also be processed. In principle, Germany could therefore deliver, but this would further deplete the already smaller stocks of its own armed forces. Because missiles and jets need to be customized, only delivering a significant number makes sense. As with other weapon systems, the new production does not meet the needs of the Ukraine war. The West is also currently denying the war from the magazine.
So far no war production in the West
So there are two political obstacles to a “yes” on the delivery to Ukraine. On the one hand, the delivery of the Taurus would remove the previous limitation of the western donor countries in terms of range or at least define the limit much more generously. So Germany would lead the way here. Politicians should finally come up with an answer as to how the outflow of war material can be compensated for by new production. The war in Ukraine can go on for years, after which it can no longer be fought with any stocks. If Western forces are to be avoided from being completely stripped of their resources over the next two years, war material production must be ramped up immediately.