How long will it take to adapt Taurus missiles to Ukrainian fighter jets?

Defense Express analysts managed to calculate the terms.

According to the media, it will take up to 6 months to integrate Taurus into our Su-24Ms. 2 months will be spent on fitting the missile itself to the bombers, and up to 4 months on training the personnel involved in the use of such weapons.

At the same time, there are also estimates of how long it will take to integrate Taurus missiles into the F-16s that Ukraine will receive soon. The period is estimated at 1 to 1.5 years. This was stated by Joachim Knopf, CEO of MBDA Deutschland, during a special event for journalists on 27 October, Janes portal reports.

The article also quotes the aforementioned Knopf as saying that if the decision is made, it will take at least a year to resume production of Taurus missiles, with possible delays in the supply of electronics and explosives.

Interestingly, following the event, MBDA Deutschland's Twitter account posted a slightly different message about the prospects for resuming Taurus production.

They say that they are ready to resume production of these missiles in the short term and that as part of this process, new technical advances can be "integrated into the missile" to "preserve the capabilities of users for the next decade".

"Apparently, Germany may be currently deploying all the infrastructure necessary to support a decision to transfer Taurus to Ukraine (if and when such a decision is made). Otherwise, it is unlikely that MBDA Deutschland's management would have made the above calculations.

In terms of timeframes, in our circumstances, the integration period of up to 6 months for the Su-24M and 1-1.5 years for the F-16 looks too long, taking into account the fact that we need the Taurus "yesterday". But on the other hand, by German standards, this is still very fast, Defense Express writes."

What is known about Taurus missiles for Ukraine

• In May, it was reported that Ukraine had asked Germany for long-range missiles.

• At the end of June, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Germany did not intend to provide Ukraine with these missiles.

• In early August, it was reported that the Bundestag had reached a consensus on the transfer of Taurus missiles to Ukraine.

• At the same time, the German newspaper Spiegel reported that Chancellor Olaf Scholz wanted to make technical modifications to the missiles to prevent Kyiv from striking Russian territory. 

• At the end of August, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called for a speedy decision on supplying Ukraine with long-range missiles, as every day is important. And in mid-September, German MPs wrote a letter to Scholz urging him to make a decision in favor of Ukraine.

  In turn, Scholz has no plans to provide Ukraine with Taurus missiles but may provide more ammunition for Patriot.