Explosive report:

Half of the Taurus systems not operational

Archive image from 2023: Demonstrators in Munich call for "Taurus for Ukraine".(Bild: APA/AFP/CHRISTOF STACHE)

While the debate about a possible delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine continues to boil, it has now become known that apparently only just under half of the Bundeswehr's Taurus systems are actually operational. For this reason, a modernization of the stocks is planned, according to a media report.

According to the German newspaper "Die Welt", the Bundestag's defense committee was recently informed of this. According to the report, certification has expired for half of the 600 or so systems. These cruise missiles are now to undergo a general overhaul. The weapons that are still operational will also be modernized.

Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasizes that German soldiers would be needed to control the Taurus cruise missiles. However, the Social Democrat rules out such a deployment.(Bild: AFP)

Ring-fencing with Great Britain made easier
This does not mean that Chancellor Olaf Scholz's veto is slowly crumbling. However, it could make a ring swap proposed by the British government - in the course of which Taurus would be sent to London, while the British in turn could pass on more Storm Shadow missiles to Kiev - easier. After all, if the Bundeswehr has more operational systems at its disposal, it can also cede some of them more easily. There will be no defense gap until supplies have been produced.

The Taurus cruise missile

• According to the manufacturer, the rocket-shaped Taurus KEPD-350 has a range of up to 500 kilometers, meaning that pilots do not have to enter enemy airspace to fire it.
• The missiles, which are around five meters long and weigh almost 1400 kilograms, are equipped with their own engine and four independent navigation systems.
• In autonomous low-level flight, they should be difficult to hit by enemy air defenses at an altitude of less than 50 meters.

Merz: "Refusing help increases the risk of war"
Ahead of the new vote on the delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine, the tone in the coalition is becoming more heated. On Tuesday, SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich demanded that the coalition partners FDP and Greens impose consequences on MPs who support a motion by the opposition CDU/CSU for the provision of the cruise missiles. On Thursday, the Bundestag will vote on the CDU/CSU motion by roll call. The leaders of the FDP and the Greens confirmed on Tuesday that their parliamentary groups are in favor of supplying the Taurus. Nevertheless, they refused to vote in favor of the Union motion because they consider it to be a tactical game. 

CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz emphasized that, in his view, the vote on Thursday was not about a single weapons system. Rather, it was about "very fundamental questions of Ukraine's defense capability". The country is in a very difficult situation and its defense is becoming increasingly difficult. "Anyone who refuses this aid to Ukraine is not increasing the chances of peace, but rather increasing the risk of war," warned Merz.