MBDA Deutschland and Swedish Saab will modernize Taurus cruise missiles for the German Air Force.

Hartpunkt reported on this.

Taurus GmbH joint venture, which manufactures, maintains, and repairs these missiles, will perform this work.

Modernizing the missiles will improve the guidance systems and increase their potential for long-range use.

“The central component of the contract is the comprehensive modernization of the Taurus cruise missiles used by the German armed forces. In addition to maintenance, the system will receive technological upgrades to meet the growing demands of modern weapon systems,” the company reported.

These improvements will allow the already-produced missiles to remain in working condition and extend their shelf life until 2045.

Equally important, the German Ministry of Defense has allocated funding to integrate the attached missiles into the Typhoon’s weapon system as part of the P4E upgrade.

It is expected that the fighter jets will be able to use these missiles starting from 2028-2029.

The German Air Force’s existing cruise missiles weigh 1.4 tons and are equipped with a warhead weighing about 450 kg containing 100 kg of explosives. The missile’s maximum range is about 500 km.

According to the manufacturer’s information, Germany has ordered a total of 600 missiles.

Militarnyi previously reported that the German Ministry of Defense plans to purchase a new generation of “long-range” cruise missiles, Taurus Neo.

According to the media, the plan is to purchase 600 missiles worth EUR 2.1 billion.

However, according to the media, the department currently does not have enough money for this purchase. Therefore, the Ministry of Defense presented a procurement project to the budget committee in confidential documents for the 2025 budget.