The German company Taurus Systems GmbH has denied the statement by Johannes Arlt, a defense expert of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), that the German defense industry is unable to quickly replenish missile stocks in case of supplying them to Ukraine, UNN reports with reference to DW.
In his post on Platform X on Friday, January 19, Taurus Systems CEO Joachim Knopf emphasized that rapid replenishment of missile stocks is not a problem.
"In the event of a corresponding order, the manufacturer is ready to launch production of new Taurus missiles and modify existing ones as soon as possible," he wrote.
Back in November, MBDA, the manufacturer that owns Taurus Systems, stated that it was able to increase production of Taurus missiles in the shortest possible time and integrate new technical achievements into them.
There are voices in the Green and Free Democrats parliamentary factions that, like the CDU/CSU bloc of Christian parties, are in favor of giving Kyiv Taurus missiles. However, the initiative was rejected in a vote in the Bundestag on January 17. Of the 666 MPs who attended the meeting, 485 voted against it.
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The Taurus cruise missile is one of the most advanced missiles in the Bundeswehr Air Force. They are capable of hitting targets at distances of up to 500 kilometers, even from high altitudes and distances, and, in particular, of destroying bunkers. In early October, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz decided not to send these weapons to Ukraine for the time being.
According to many experts, this is due to fears that Ukraine could use the Taurus to strike at Russian territory or to destroy the Crimean bridge, which is strategically important for Russian troops.