Taurus cruise missile from Upper Bavaria – Economy

If you like, the town of Schrobenhausen, which has a population of 16,000, is something like picture-perfect Upper Bavaria. Over 1200 years of history, a historic town center, a late Gothic church from the 15th century, Baroque music days once a year, the birthplace of the painter Franz von Lenbach. And of course the Old Town Asparagus Festival in May, because the place is famous for its white and green asparagus; connoisseurs praise its “strong, nutty taste”.

With asparagus, Upper Bavaria and late Gothic, the story of this small town could almost be told. If there wasn’t this big forest west of the city, and if there wasn’t a big factory in the middle of the forest that produces the weapons that could have a decisive impact on the war in Ukraine – and that are currently being hotly debated in politics becomes.

Because the asparagus and Lenbach town of Schrobenhausen is, perhaps less well known, also an armaments town. No tanks or airplanes are being built, it’s about very special weapons. Schrobenhausen is a cruise missile city. This is where the defense company Taurus Systems recently manufactured its Taurus KEPD-350 cruise missile, which has been discussed for months. Ukraine has been asking Germany to supply these heavy weapons for a long time; Politicians from the Greens and FDP would like to deliver. But Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) rejects this. He had already decided last fall not to send any of these cruise missiles to Ukraine for the time being. He thinks it’s too dangerous, too massive.

How do the cruise missiles work? And who builds them?

From a Bavarian forest, surrounded by asparagus fields and farms, right into the middle of a war zone – that raises at least a few questions. Based on the way these cruise missiles, also called “bunker busters” because of their tremendous power, work. And the question of who actually builds them.

Manufacturer of these Cruise Missiles, as they are called in English, is the arms company Taurus Systems GmbH, founded in 1998, which in turn has an extremely complex corporate structure behind it. Taurus was founded more than 25 years ago as a joint venture between MBDA Deutschland GmbH and the Swedish company Saab Dynamics AB. MBDA Deutschland GmbH, in turn, is a 100 percent subsidiary of the European MBDA group (the abbreviation stands for “Matra BAE Dynamics Aérospatiale”), which develops and builds guided missiles and guided missile systems for the air force, army and navy. If you look behind the scenes of the large corporation, you will come across well-known names: Europe’s largest aerospace company Airbus, the British defense and aviation colossus BAE Systems and the Italian defense, aerospace company Leonardo, which was formerly known as the called Finmeccanica. Seen in this way, what is taking place here in Bavaria is not a German affair – it is a pan-European project.

A little less than 1,000 of these cruise missiles are said to have been built since 1998, 600 of which are owned by the Bundeswehr, with a rumored purchase price per unit: almost one million euros. According to the industry, other larger quantities were also sold to Spain and South Korea. The company has a location in both countries. In South Korea were cruise missiles Made in Germany tested a few years ago. The weapons from Schrobenhausen are intended to help the South Korean army destroy North Korean command bunkers or bridges in an emergency.

The rockets are packed with high technology

The projectile in numbers: Five meters long, 1.4 tons heavy, the warhead alone, a two meter long tip made of special steel, weighs 485 kilograms. Speed ​​just below the sound limit, around 1000 kilometers per hour, range around 500 kilometers. The Taurus cruise missiles can be launched from aircraft because their low altitude of around 50 meters makes them difficult for enemy radars to detect and intercept. In addition, the rockets are packed with high technology, radar and sensor instruments. For example, a navigation system in the front part that uses GPS and digital image processing. On the one hand, to avoid enemy counterattacks. On the other hand, to hit as precisely as possible. This should make it possible to precisely target individual floors and rooms in bunkers and then detonate them with around half a ton of explosives when they hit.

The cruise missile from Germany is considered a German-Swedish counterpart to the British and French Storm Shadow and Scalp cruise missiles. Great Britain has already handed over its own “Storm Shadow” cruise missiles to the Ukrainian army, and France has also become active.

But Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz has so far refused to deliver the Bavarian “bunker busters” to Ukraine. Behind the hesitant attitude is the fear that Germany could be drawn into the war through Taurus deliveries – also because in an emergency, German personnel may be needed to maintain the weapon systems and prepare them for operations, it is said. In addition, due to their long range of 500 kilometers, the missiles could also reach Russian territory far behind the front. However, without soldiers, without a crew, and unmanned, say the supporters of deliveries. A way to hit Russian bunkers and logistics chains from a greater distance. For the attacked Ukraine they would be more defense than attack.

In Schrobenhausen they are now building guided missiles for NATO

Whether Germany delivers the missiles to Ukraine or not is initially irrelevant for Taurus Systems in Schrobenhausen. The cruise missiles are owned by the Bundeswehr, as is the production of the latter Cruise Missiles was already a while ago. The last order that was processed here was for South Korea. Small quantities with months of production.

Such a cruise missile factory is far more complicated than Audi’s car production in neighboring Ingolstadt. No orders, no production, that’s how it works in a factory that produces rockets like this. Since the end of the last missile production, a large part of the 1,000 employees in Schrobenhausen have been involved in maintenance work, research and development. And with the next billion dollar project.

The client is NATO, it is about the construction of guided missiles for the Patriot air defense system, which was developed for defense by the US arms companies Raytheon and Lockheed. “Patriot is used by eight European countries and Ukraine to defend against cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and enemy drones and aircraft,” says a statement from MBDA Germany.

A major order for guided missiles, assembled in a forest in Upper Bavaria. Schrobenhausen, the old asparagus town, is increasingly becoming an armaments town.