Germany authorises test development of Taurus KEPD 350

The German-Swedish joint venture TAURUS Systems GmbH has been asked by the German Federal Office of Defence Technology and Procurement (BWB) to manufacture and deliver further Taurus KEPD 350 missiles1 test equipment and support for troop trials.

The contract will be run for two years and has a value of DM 26 million. TAURUS Systems GmbH is a subsidiary of LFK-Lenkflugkorpersysteme GmbH (2/3), a member of EADS, and the Swedish company SAAB-Bofors Dynamics (1/3).

"This contract is a logical step on the way to series production of the Taurus KEPD 350 stand-off weapon system for the Tornados of the German Air Force. The contract proves our customer's confidence in the maturity of our weapon system and is a firm indicator of the programme success", said Manfred Kusters, Managing Director of TAURUS Systems GmbH.

Taurus KEPD 350 is a modular stand-off missile designed as a point target weapon for deployment on the Tornado combat aircraft and the multirole version of the Eurofighter.

In addition to providing for the overall design of the missile system and the construction of 28 test missiles, the contract also covers development of the missile, modular electronic systems, a Trilec navigation system (consisting of an inertial navigation system , Global Positioning System, a terrain-following navigation system and IR way-point navigation), an infrared seeker head, a mission planning system, a new fuel supply system and integration of a powerful turbo engine for flight speeds greater than 0.8 Mach at extremely low altitudes.

Once the development has been completed by early 2002, the German Air Force will be the first European air force to put such a standoff missile into service.

REF XQQEE XQQAR