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Taurus KEPD-350 guided missile for the defense industry

Photo: Michael Bihlmayer / IMAGO

The arms company and Taurus manufacturer MBDA is pushing for faster federal decisions on orders to the industry. “We can do much better and faster here in Germany,” said the head of the German subsidiary, Thomas Gottschild, to the “Augsburger Allgemeine.” Despite improvements, there is still a lot of potential to procure defense equipment more quickly. The joint venture between Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo is, among other things, a producer of the Taurus cruise missile and Patriot anti-aircraft missiles.

Gottschild pointed out that Taurus missiles would no longer be manufactured because the defense industry was not allowed to produce stocks without orders. "It's a challenge for our industry when production is interrupted like with the Taurus," said the manager. "In such cases, our suppliers, who are often small and medium-sized companies, have stopped production." With new orders, suppliers would first have to reposition themselves and secure raw materials, for example. Given the high demand worldwide, there are bottlenecks, especially for raw materials for explosives.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejects Taurus deliveries to Ukraine

“The arms industry needs a base load in production,” said Gottschild. "It's enough to make it worthwhile to maintain supply chains, keep test equipment state-of-the-art and maintain the competence of employees." As a positive example, he cited an order from several states for up to 1,000 Patriot missiles, which MBDA was cooperating with will be produced by its US partner Raytheon in Schrobenhausen. "We will deliver the first Patriot missiles within three years."

Whether Germany delivers Taurus missiles to Ukraine is a political decision. With a flight distance of more than 500 kilometers, the Taurus has “a great distance effect.” Something like this is needed by Ukraine to combat logistics chains and strategic goals. »Ukraine is currently covering its standoff capability with other weapons. From the Ukrainians' point of view, the Taurus would be an important additional component in the current situation. "Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejects Taurus deliveries to Ukraine.

MBDA is not worried about skilled workers in Germany. "We're getting the workers we need," said Gottschild. "Last year we recorded an average of around 400 applications per month, and at the beginning of this year the number shot up to 800 per month." Almost 1,000 of the approximately 1,200 MBDA employees in Germany currently work in Schrobenhausen. The number of jobs is expected to increase by around 300 by the end of next year.

swe/Reuters