Taurus KEPD 350K
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 a modular stand-off 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 GPS-guided Taurus KEPD 350K has a range of 500 kilometers and can perform deep penetration missions with pinpoint accuracy, making it ideal for taking out hard targets such as underground installations and bridges. 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 air-launched cruise missile can automatically detect, trace and hit targets and penetrate a concrete wall as thick as six meters. Once operationally deployed, South Korean pilots will be able to hit strategic targets such as nuclear and missile bases with great precision without entering North Korean airspace.
In 2013, Seoul decided to purchase 170 Taurus air-to-ground missiles manufactured by the German-Swedish joint venture Taurus Systems, which cost around 2 billion won ($1.8 million) each. Among them, 60 missiles were scheduled to be deployed by the end of 2016 and the others in early 2017.
On 14 October 2016 TAURUS Systems GmbH, a joint venture of MBDA Deutschland GmbH (67 %) and SAAB Dynamics AB (33 %), 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 program was progressing according to plan and the integration to the Korean Air Force F-15K fighter aircraft was in the final stages. TAURUS weapon system will provide RoKAF with the most advanced stand-off and deep strike capability currently available on the world market. South Korea planned to buy more Taurus air-to-surface missiles that can strike North Korea's nuclear and missile facilities, military officials said 04 October 2016. "The military has recently decided to acquire 90 more Taurus missiles to further beef up its anti-nuclear and anti-missile capabilities. The process to purchase the additional missiles is underway," a defense ministry official told Yonhap News Agency.
Some 170 Taurus missiles were already scheduled to be deployed with the Air Force. The North's fifth nuclear test in September 2016 and continued ballistic missile launches resulted in the additional purchase. When the deployment is complete, the Air Force will be the first Asian country to operate fighter jets armed with the advanced German 500-kilometer-ranged missile system, the official said. South Korea's arms procurement agency said on 15 November 2016 that it planned to develop air to surface missiles similar to the Taurus missile from Germany. Apart from importing 260 long-range Taurus missiles from Berlin by 2018, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration also planned to develop a similar missile using solely homegrown technology, and to produce 200 such missiles.
DAPA spokesperson Kim Si-cheol said "We plan to develop the missiles with the nation's technology hosted by the Agency of Defense Development. The project is scheduled to kick off in 2018." To achieve this, the South Korean government plans to allocate over US$690 million in research and development for the 200 long range air to surface missiles. TAURUS Systems Korea (TSK) was founded in 2014 and is located in Seoul, Korea.
Currently, South Korea uses Slam-ER long range air launched cruise missiles which have a range of up to 280 kilometers, meaning they can hit the North Korean capital of Pyongyang when fired from Seoul. However, the Taurus-class missile has a range of up to 500 kilometers, which means it is capable of reaching Pyongyang when fired from a jet flying above the city of Daejeon in South Korea, and even target the North's nuclear facilities in Yongbyon when fired from the inter-Korean border.
The imported Taurus missiles will be attached to F-15K jets. However, the homegrown missiles will be used for the newly built KFX fighter jets which are scheduled to finish development by the mid 2020s.
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