An artist's rendering of the Taurus cruise missile being launched from a F-15 aircraft. South Korea carried out tests of this weapon on 8 and 10 October 2024. (Boeing)
South Korea has carried out its first firing of the Taurus KEPD 350K cruise missile in seven years, official state news agency Yonhap News Agency, citing Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) officials, reported on 11 October.
Firings of an undisclosed number of the missiles were carried out on 8 and 10 October at designated targets in the Yellow Sea (West Sea) with all weapons hitting their objectives successfully after flying for 400 km, the report added.
South Korea deploys the Taurus KEPD 350K cruise missile from onboard its fleet of Boeing F-15K Slam Eagle combat aircraft. An initial contract for the weapon was signed in November 2013.
It is an enhanced version of the Taurus KEPD 350 fielded by the German and Spanish air forces' fleet of Panavia Tornado combat aircraft, and Boeing EF-18 Hornet and Eurofighter Typhoon airframes respectively.
South Korea first fired the missile in 2017 in response to Pyongyang carrying out its sixth nuclear weapons test in September of that year. It had not been fired since then until the tests on 8 and 10 October.
Equipped with the Multi-Effect Penetrator Highly Sophisticated and Target Optimised (MEPHISTO) warhead and intelligent fusing system, the Taurus missile has been designed for use against hardened targets such as bunkers and concealed command centres.
The baseline Taurus KEPD 350 missile has a weight of 1,400 kg, a length of 5.1 m, a height of 32 cm, and is 63 cm wide.
Looking to read the full article?
Gain unlimited access to Janes news and more...
