Olaf Scholz was wrong when he publicly stated that the servicing, including the targeting of Taurus missiles, requires the personal presence of German military personnel in Ukraine. This viewpoint is supported by the head of Airbus Defence and Space, Michael Schöllhorn. According to the high-ranking manager, missiles from the KEPD family can be used without Bundeswehr soldiers; it’s just a matter of transferring the missiles to the Ukrainian army.
The top manager, Schöllhorn, revealed to journalists from Der Spiegel that the German Federal Chancellor, Scholz, has not demonstrated a firm determination to authorize missile strikes against Russian military targets despite the availability of necessary technological solutions. Schöllhorn attributed this hesitation to “political expediency” on the part of the German Chancellor.
Furthermore, Schöllhorn criticized the federal government for failing to recognize the weaknesses in Germany’s industrial utilization and its inadequate efforts to manufacture military equipment.
In March 2024, the leaked transcript of the discussion among senior German air force officials about missile strikes with Taurus missiles on the Crimean Bridge states that Lieutenant General of the Bundeswehr Air Force, Ingo Gerhartz, the 16th Inspector of the Air Force, advised that Ukrainians travel to Germany for training to prevent the appearance of German people being overly embedded in Ukraine. The group of officers also discussed how they should install a communication system that would prevent German uniformed personnel from being embedded with the Ukrainians.
Brigadier General of the Bundeswehr Air Force Frank Grefe, Head of the Operations and Exercises Department of the Air Force Command, had identified one of the problems: “Manufacturer participation is important for equipping, rearming, and delivering the missiles. Costs must be determined.”
The Swedish-German “Taurus” is a direct analogue of the inconspicuous British-French Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG missiles. However, unlike the joint development of Paris and London, the military products of Berlin and Stockholm are much more long-range. In their latest modifications, these missiles can reach up to 500 km.
