“Can boost production”
Taurus manufacturer contradicts SPD
January 20, 2024, 10:34 a.m
SPD politician Johannes Arlt claims that Germany’s defense capability would be at risk if Taurus cruise missiles were delivered to Ukraine. The producer immediately makes it clear that short-term re-production would not be a problem. The company had already explained this months ago.
The managing director of Taurus Systems, Joachim Knopf, has confirmed that he will be able to ramp up production of Taurus missiles in the short term, contradicting SPD defense politician Johannes Arlt. On Friday he spoke out against a delivery to Ukraine because there was no possibility of reproducing it in the foreseeable future and thus replenishing its own stocks.
Managing director Knopf now wrote on Platform The manufacturer MBDA, to which Taurus Systems belongs, had already explained in November: “Production of #Taurus can be restarted in the short term. There is an opportunity to integrate new technical advances. This means that the client will be able to maintain its capabilities for the next decades.”
There are voices in the Greens and FDP factions who, like the Union, advocate for a supply of Taurus weapons. The Union’s request for a delivery was rejected in the Bundestag on Wednesday. FDP defense politician Marcus Faber also contradicted Arlt’s statement at X – he had spoken to the manufacturer. Wolfgang Ischinger, former head of the Munich Security Conference, then wrote on the network: “Where is the commission?”
The Taurus is one of the Air Force’s most modern missiles. The weapons also find their target from great heights and distances with a range of 500 kilometers and can, for example, destroy bunkers. At the beginning of October, Chancellor Olaf Scholz decided not to deliver any of these cruise missiles to Ukraine for the time being. According to many experts, there is a fear that Russian territory or the Crimean Bridge, which is crucial for the logistics of Moscow’s troops, could be hit.