Image Assisted Navigation System of Taurus KEPD 350 Successfully Completes First Test
Successful Captive Flight Test Campaign on Tornado at Bundeswehr Technical Centre WTD 61 in Manching
Paris/Munich, le 15 juin 2001
During a captive flight test campaign at the Bundeswehr Technical Centre WTD 61 in Manching, the image assisted navigation system of the Taurus KEPD 350 missile has been successfully tested for the first time. Operating in conjunction with the image assisted navigation installed on a Tornado aircraft, the infrared seeker identified 19 out of 20 possible predefined waypoints on the ground. This was announced by TAURUS Systems GmbH, a subsidiary of LFK-Lenkflugkörpersysteme GmbH (2/3) and member of EADS, and the Swedish company Saab-Bofors Dynamics AB (1/3) at the Aerosalon Le Bourget 2001 (16 to 24 June 2001).
The captive flight campaign is part of the ongoing development contract which the German-Swedish joint venture TAURUS Systems GmbH was awarded by the Federal Office for Defense Technology and Procurement (BWB) in 1998. The image assisted navigation system, which is a stand-alone feature of the standoff missile for Tornado, provides this weapon system with an unrivalled mission spectrum when it is on operational sorties.
"With this successful captive flight test campaign of KEPD 350 on a Tornado, it has been possible to reach a further important milestone on the way to completing the development phase. Without the excellent support we received from our colleagues at WTD 61 this success would have been unthinkable. We extend our special thanks to them," summarised Werner Kaltenegger, managing director of LFK-Lenkflugkörpersysteme GmbH.
The modular standoff missile Taurus KEPD 350 is conceived as a point target weapon for deployment on the Tornado combat aircraft and the multirole version of the Eurofighter. In addition to providing for the overall design of the missile system and the construction of 28 test missiles, the contract also covers development of the missile structure using innovative and cost-saving construction methods, modular electronic systems, a Tri-Tec navigation system (consisting besides an inertial navigation system (INS), of a Global Positioning System (GPS), a terrain-following navigation system and IR way-point navigation), an infrared seeker head, a mission planning system, a new fuel supply system and integration of a powerful turbo engine for flight speeds up to 0.9 Mach at extremely low altitudes.
Experience gained in the recent past shows that there is an urgent need for a high precision standoff guided missile system that can be used for the engagement of military targets from great distances without endangering the carrier aircraft or civil installations close to the selected target.
With the completion of the development work on Taurus KEPD 350 and the parliamentary decisions which are planned for the year 2001, from 2002/2003 on the Luftwaffe will be the first European air force capable of deploying such a missile.
Person to contact:
Wolfram Lautner
Tel. +49-89-3179-2549
Fax +49-89-3179-3871
