Germany struggles to find ways to provide long-range missiles to Ukraine?

Germany is reportedly considering a potential deal in which Berlin would supply its most “powerful” long-range cruise missiles to Britain and France, so that London and Paris could transfer their versions of the weapons to Ukraine.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been reluctant to send German Taurus bunker-buster missiles directly to Ukraine because he fears the German missiles – with a range of more than 500km – could be used to strike deep into Russian territory.

If Germany were to supply the Taurus to Britain and France, it would mean that the two countries could move more Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles to the front lines. The Storm Shadow and Scalp are also long-range cruise missiles, but have a shorter range than the Taurus, at around 250 km.

The British Storm Shadow missile has been used by Ukrainian forces on multiple occasions, including in the recent attack on the headquarters of the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet on the Crimean peninsula.

Negotiations on the plan – which was initiated by Britain a few weeks ago – are ongoing, and there are still a number of technical and logistical issues to be resolved, according to a person familiar with the deal. The news was first reported by German news agency DPA and newspaper Handelsblatt.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was quoted on January 25 as saying he was unaware of any such talks.

“If there are such talks, they are not within my competence,” Pistorius said in an interview with Bild, Welt TV and Politico. If officials in the German chancellor’s office are discussing the plan, they would have to determine “whether it is feasible or not,” the minister added.

The UK Ministry of Defence neither denied nor confirmed the plan. “The UK and our partners, including Germany, continue to work together to equip Ukraine as best we can to defend its sovereign territory,” a UK Ministry of Defence spokesperson said.

The French Defense Ministry declined to confirm the talks without giving details, while an official in French President Emmanuel Macron's office said there were no talks with Germany on any such deal.

In recent weeks, Mr. Scholz has repeatedly called on European allies to send more weapons to Ukraine, arguing that Germany has contributed more than half of all military aid from EU member states to Kiev.

“It is quite frustrating to constantly face criticism in Germany that the government is doing too little and too hesitant,” Scholz said in an interview with the weekly Die Zeit on January 24. “But we are doing more than all the other EU countries, much more,” he added.

The rift within the European Union comes at a time when international support for Ukraine is waning, with more than $100 billion in US and EU funding delayed due to political wrangling.

Although it is not clear whether Germany and Britain are negotiating such an arms swap deal, Marcus Faber, a member of the defense committee in the German lower house of parliament (Bundestag) representing the Free Democratic Party (FDP) – a partner in Chancellor Scholz’s ruling coalition, criticized the deal, calling it “the second-best solution for Ukraine” rather than the best.

“The Taurus is more accurate and its range gives the pilots I spoke to a solid shot against enemy air defenses,” Faber said in a post on the social media platform X/Twitter.

The Taurus is manufactured by MBDA Deutschland GmbH and SAAB AB of Sweden, and is currently used by Germany, Spain and South Korea. MBDA also produces the Storm Shadow and SCALP .

World - Germany struggles to find ways to provide long-range missiles to Ukraine? — Some parameters and characteristics of the Taurus missile. Photo: The Telegraph

The British Storm Shadow and French SCALP missiles are similar to the Taurus, but the German missile has some advanced features that make the Germans hesitate. For example, it has a more sophisticated and targeted MEPHISTO warhead, which can be more effective at penetrating and destroying bridges.

The obvious difference between the missiles is found in their engines. The Taurus has a more modern turbofan engine than the Storm Shadow and the SCALP, which is powered by a turbofan. Furthermore, the Taurus has a longer range thanks to its propeller design, which features a front fan that efficiently circulates air through the engine core.

With an official range of over 500 km, the Taurus missiles could be used by Ukrainian forces to strike Russian positions across Crimea and eastern Ukraine. This is something that Germany is concerned about, largely because of its proximity to Russia compared to its allies. Another concern for Germany is that if the Taurus were to fall into Russian hands, they would likely learn about it and develop a way to counter it .

Minh Duc (According to Bloomberg, EurAsian Times)

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