Taurus KEPD 350, the Bunker-Busting Cruise Missile Explained

The Taurus KEPD 350 is a German-Swedish air-launched cruise missile built to fly more than 500 kilometers at treetop height and put a 481-kilogram two-stage warhead through hardened concrete. Jointly produced by MBDA Deutschland and Saab Dynamics, it arms German, Spanish and South Korean strike aircraft, and it spent two years at the center of Europe’s most public weapons-transfer debate.

Taurus KEPD 350 specifications

How the Taurus missile works

Taurus is built around the assumption that GPS will be jammed. Its navigation package cross-checks an inertial core against three independent references, satellite navigation when available, terrain-referenced navigation that matches the radar altimeter against stored elevation data, and image-based navigation that compares what an infrared sensor sees with onboard imagery. The result is a missile that keeps finding its way when satellite signals disappear, a design philosophy it shares with few weapons of its generation, and a direct contrast with early versions of the American Tomahawk.

A Williams turbofan pushes the missile at high subsonic speed while it hugs terrain at around 35 meters, low enough to hide in ground clutter for most of the flight. The airframe is shaped and coated to reduce radar signature, though the manufacturer has never published figures.

What is the Mephisto warhead

The 481 kg Mephisto is the missile’s defining feature. A precursor shaped charge opens the way through earth or reinforced concrete, then a penetrator body follows through the cavity and detonates inside the target, with a programmable fuze that can count layers or floors and choose where to explode. That makes Taurus a specialist against bunkers, hardened command posts and, controversially in the Ukraine debate, large bridge structures.

Taurus missile operators and launch aircraft

South Korea is the most active user community. Seoul bought Taurus specifically to hold North Korean hardened sites at risk from standoff distance, pairing it with the F-15K fleet, and a lighter KEPD 350K-2 derivative has been discussed for the FA-50 and KF-21. In Europe, Germany’s inventory rides on the aging Tornado fleet, with Eurofighter integration repeatedly announced and repeatedly slow, an institutional story similar to other programs at Saab partner MBDA.

Taurus and the Ukraine debate

From 2023 through 2025, Taurus was shorthand for Germany’s deepest arms-transfer dilemma. Kyiv asked for the missile to strike bridges and command nodes far behind the front, pointing to the precedent of British Storm Shadow and French SCALP deliveries. Berlin declined, citing escalation risk and the fear that targeting support would drag Germany into the war, and an intercepted Luftwaffe officers’ call about employment options became a public embarrassment in 2024. The episode turned an obscure bunker-buster into one of Europe’s best-known weapons, a notoriety shared with Russian systems like Kalibr for opposite reasons.

Taurus KEPD 350 frequently asked questions

What is the range of the Taurus KEPD 350?

Officially more than 500 km at low level, which puts it in the same class as Storm Shadow/SCALP and ahead of most ballistic alternatives for standoff strike.

Who makes the Taurus missile?

Taurus Systems GmbH, a joint venture of MBDA Deutschland (67%) and Sweden’s Saab Dynamics (33%), with final assembly in Germany.

Which countries use Taurus?

Germany, Spain and South Korea. Launch platforms are the Tornado IDS, EF-18 Hornet and F-15K respectively.

Why did Germany not send Taurus to Ukraine?

Successive governments cited escalation risk and the depth of targeting support required; the decision held through the war’s course despite pressure from allies and parliament.

What makes the Mephisto warhead special?

It is a 481 kg two-stage penetrator, a shaped precursor charge followed by a penetrating main charge with a fuze that can count layers before detonating.