A hand-off ceremony took place at the headquarters of the missiles’ manufacturer, Taurus Systems GmbH, in Schrobenhausen, Bavaria, and featured South Korean officials and representatives from the country’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
MBDA Deutschland GmbH, the defense technology company that partnered with SAAB Dynamics to build the Taurus Systems, said that this was the first in a series of deliveries to the South Korean air force.
The Taurus system will give South Korea deep strike and standoff capabilities. Plans to integrate the weapons with the country’s Air Force F-15K fighter aircraft are nearing completion.
The Spanish Air Force has been using the Taurus 350K’s predecessor, the Taurus KEPD 350 missile, since 2009, and the German Air Force has been using the missile since 2005.
The upgraded 350K is designed to engage high-value targets through dense air defenses at a low terrain. It is a modular stand-off missile system chiefly employed for precision strikes. The system also combines blast-and-fragmentation capabilities and penetration capabilities used for buried or hard targets in its dual stage warhead system.
South Korea’s "Active Deterrence" defense policy includes options to launch pre-emptive strikes against North Korean nuclear facilities and military leadership if it fears a nuclear attack is imminent. Long-range, precision missiles capable of reaching buried targets will bolster their capability to do that.
