Germany’s Taurus cruise missile

The Taurus bunker-busting missile, which Germany may send to Ukraine, is considered to be one of the most modern weapon systems in use by the German military, the Bundeswehr


TAURUS KEPD 350: German-Swedish air-launched cruise missile

High-thrust turbofan engine 
Wings
Imaging infrared seeker


Tandem warhead: Charge blasts through outer walls of bunker before penetrator explodes inside

Warhead weight 480kg

Kinetic energy penetrator 

Shaped charge


5m
2.06m

Range: 350-500km 
Weight: 1,400kg 
Speed: Mach 0.6-0.95


HOW TAURUS FINDS ITS TARGET

1 Missile launched from bomber, wings extend

2 Drops to very low altitude. Uses inertial navigation, GPS and terrain contour mapping sensors, staying below radar

3 Missile climbs steeply then strikes from above, using infrared seeker to precisely identify target


Sources: Deutsche Welle, FT, Taurus Systems GmbH
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