Voting
?What about new design for our website
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
Voting Number 1647
- Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed attends specialised demonstrations by 22nd cohort of UAE National Service Programme at Sweihan Training Centre
- Hamdan bin Mohammed witnesses display of skills of National Service Programme recruits
- 44 Interns Join Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology Internship in Abu Dhabi
- DCI’s OCA Steers MDO Command Course
- EDGE Recognised as ‘Best Company to Work For’ at the Employee Happiness Awards 2025
- Raytheon and Northrop Grumman Achieve Milestone in Next-Gen Interceptor Rocket Motor Tests
- SMARTSHOOTER Secures USD13 M U.S. Army Contract for Fire Control Systems
- L3Harris Boosts Space Force Defences with Mobile Satellite Comms Jammer
- MH-139A Concludes Nuclear Transport Training Exercise
- EDGE Signs MoU to Localise Maintenance Capabilities of Thales’ Advanced Optronic Systems in the UAE
- Babcock Wins Contract to Support Nuclear Submarine Defueling Operations
- Embraer to Offer Gogo Galileo HDX In-Flight Connectivity for Phenom 300
- Germany to Acquire Joint Strike Missiles for F-35s in Deal with Kongsberg
- BAE Systems to Build 10 Missile Warning Satellites Under U.S. Space Force Deal
- EDGE Signs Record-Breaking AED 9 Billion Naval Contract with Kuwait Ministry of Defence
- Hamdan bin Mohammed attends graduation ceremony of 43rd cohort of Zayed II Military College in Al Ain
- Saab Showcases Locally Developed Coast Control Radar at Make it in the Emirates 2025
- EDGE Entity EPI Receives Prestigious Accreditation from EIAC for Calibration
- Make it in the Emirates 2025 Concludes Successful Day Three under the Theme of Smart Manufacturing, Industry 4.0, and Artificial Intelligence
- Tawazun Council and Thales Sign Agreement to Establish Ground Master Air Surveillance Radar Production Facility in UAE
2016-11-01
The Modular Stand-Off Missile For Precision Strike
First Batch of Taurus KEPD 350K Missiles Delivered to South Korea
Taurus Systems GmbH, a joint venture of MBDA Deutschland GmbH (67 per cent) and SAAB Dynamics AB (33 per cent), recently handed over the first lot of Taurus KEPD 350K stand–off missiles to the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF).
The ceremony, which saw the participation of representatives from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and the RoKAF, was performed at the headquarters of Taurus Systems GmbH in Schrobenhausen, Bavaria, and marked the start of series deliveries.
The Taurus KEPD 350K programme is reportedly progressing according to plan and the integration to the Korean Air Force F-15K fighter aircraft is in the final stages. The Taurus weapon system will provide RoKAF with the most advanced standoff and deep strike capability currently available on the world market.
Taurus KEPD 350K is an enhanced and upgraded version of the Taurus KEPD 350 missile, which has been in service with the German Air Force since 2005 and with the Spanish Air Force since 2009. The Taurus KEPD 350K is being integrated onto the RoKAF’s Boeing F-15K Slam Eagle fleet.
The Taurus KEPD 350K is a modular standoff missile system for precision strikes. The KEPD 350K missile has been designed and developed to fly through dense air defenses at a very low terrain-following level and for the engagement of high-value targets. The missile contains a highly effective dual stage warhead system, which combines excellent penetration capabilities for hard and deeply buried targets with blast-and-fragmentation capabilities against point and area targets.
The baseline Taurus KEPD 350 missile is a 350 km to 500 km-class weapon. Once launched, the missile, which is powered by a small turbofan engine, flies at extremely low altitudes (30 m) at speeds of up to Mach 0.9. The Taurus KEPD 350 missile measures 5.1 m in length, 63 cm wide, 32 cm high, and weighs in at 1,400 kg.
Thanks to its Tri-Tec navigation system, which consists of a GPS-supported inertial navigation, a radar altimeter and an imaging IR seeker head, the Taurus is designed for precision strike.
To achieve the maximum effect against the target, the Taurus utilises the MEPHISTO tandem warhead system with distance sensor, shaped charge, penetrator and PIMPF intelligent detonator system. It is designed to combat a wide range of targets, including hard, deeply buried targets, enabling the neutralisation of high value point and area targets whilst avoiding collateral damage and without exposing launch aircraft and crews to enemy air defences.
To achieve the maximum effect against the target, the Taurus utilises the MEPHISTO tandem warhead system with distance sensor, shaped charge, penetrator and PIMPF intelligent detonator system. It is designed to combat a wide range of targets, including hard, deeply buried targets, enabling the neutralisation of high value point and area targets whilst avoiding collateral damage and without exposing launch aircraft and crews to enemy air defences.
The German Luftwaffe deploys the Taurus KEPD 350 precision standoff guided missile system on the Tornado IDS. The Spanish Air Force uses it to arm its EF-18 aircraft. Future development enhancements to this system are possible in such areas as inflight control, anti-ship operations, integration within a network-enabled environment and integration onto the Eurofighter Typhoon.
The integration of this modular designed missile started in 2004 at the MBDA site in Schrobenhausen. In addition to the supply of the missiles, the 2002 German Luftwaffe contract also included the preparation for and the carrying out of series production as well as logistics elements such as the supply of spare-parts sets and equipment for munitions monitoring.
The weapon system contains the programmable multi-purpose fuze, enabling detonation of the penetrator at a pre-selected floor within the target structure by utilising layer counting and void sensing technologies.
The South Korean Air Force plans to introduce 90 more in addition to the 170 or so to better counter North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats. The Taurus missile enables precision strikes against nuclear and missile facilities in North Korea from a long distance. These will be delivered to South Korea in phases through 2017.
According to reports, the Taurus KEPD 350K for the RoKAF differs slightly in that it is equipped with a new Rockwell Collins GPS receiver that comes with a Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) to prevent jamming.
An official was quoted saying, “At a time when North Korea’s nuclear and missile capabilities are becoming a reality, our targets have increased so we have decided to acquire 90 additional Taurus missiles.”
Reportedly the Taurus, which can strike targets up to 500 kilometers (311 miles) away, will be able to target key buildings and facilities in Pyongyang if launched from Daegu, North Gyeongsang, where the F-15K Slam Eagle fighter jet air base is located.
The high precision cruise missile can detect and trace its target using a GPS retriever, image based navigation (IBN) sensors and terrain referenced navigation (TRN). It can also send images of the target through its high-resolution thermographic camera prior to attack. The missile has reportedly been shown to have an extremely high accuracy rate.
Reference Text/ Photo:
www.mbda-systems.com
www.aeroaustraliamag.com
Visitors Comments
Related Topics
.
No Comments