The new version of Taurus is lighter by 500 kg: why did Germany change the anti-bunker missile (photo)

Because of this, an updated version of the KASOM (Korean Advanced Stand Off Missile) will soon appear. It is explained that the weapon was made smaller to fit in the internal compartment of South Korean KF-21 Boromae fighters. Analysts drew attention to a post by a user of the social network X (Twitter) with the nickname Sweet Clay, who published a series of photos from the exhibition.

The user wrote that the KEPD missile and the new KASOM missile from Taurus appeared at the Professional Day of the Seoul Air Show. At the same time, the KASOM missile from Taurus was presented only as a project in the booklet, so DE wrote that the company is probably still engaged in development, since there is no mockup or prototype.

However, there is information about how the new version will differ from the previous one: Analysts added that due to the reduced size of the new Taurus variant, the stealth characteristics of the carrier aircraft are increasing. This is probably why Germany decided not to buy the old version of the weapon for the newly ordered F-35A aircraft. "In this way, the advantage of inconspicuousness is preserved, which cannot be achieved with classic placement on pylons," the article reads.

Focus wrote about the old version of the Taurus missile, which Ukraine would like to receive from the first year of the Russian invasion. DE analysts then reported that the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine could launch this weapon from Su-24 aircraft. In 2023, there were statements in the media about the possibility of providing Taurus KEPD 350 missiles. Taurus KEPD 350 is a cruise missile weighing 1360 kg (with fuel) and 5. 1 m long, which flies at a subsonic speed of 1000 km/h.

The purpose of the rocket is to strike enemy bunkers and fortified buildings, as well as bridges and ammunition depots. In the spring of 2025, the Federal Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, while he was not the head of the government, said that he was ready to transfer Taurus missiles to the Armed Forces, but later refused to support this idea. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump promised Ukraine Tomahawk missiles in the fall of 2025.

After that, analysts assumed that in this way Washington would like to put pressure on its partners so that the Ukrainian Armed Forces received not Tomahawks, but Taurus. We remind you that on the night of October 21, British Storm Shadow missiles attacked the military-industrial complex plant in the Bryansk region of the Russian Federation.