Taurus KEPD 350 Overview

The KEPD 350 is an air-launched cruise missile. It has a mass of 1,400 kg, a length of 5.1 m, and a body width of 1.08 m. The operational range is greater than 500 km.

The missile carries the 480 kg MEPHISTO warhead. This is a two-stage tandem penetrator designed to attack hardened and deeply buried targets. The warhead has a precharge, an initial penetrating charge, and a variable delay fuze to control the detonation of the main charge.

The missile uses a terrain-hugging flight path. Its guidance suite contains an inertial navigation system (INS), image-based navigation (IBN), terrain-referenced navigation (TRN), and a Global Positioning System (GPS). The missile is capable of navigation over long distances without GPS support.

The terminal flight phase consists of a climb and bunt dive maneuver. A thermographic camera supports navigation via IBN and provides for GPS-independent terminal guidance. The missile uses a Digital Scene Matching Area Correlator (DSMAC) system to compare the live camera image to a stored three-dimensional target model. If a match is not confirmed, the missile aborts the attack and flies to a pre-designated crash point.

KEPD 350K

The KEPD 350K is a variant of the baseline missile. It has a mass of 1,400 kg, a length of 5.1 m, and an operational range greater than 500 km. It carries the 480 kg MEPHISTO warhead. This variant is equipped with a Rockwell Collins GPS receiver. The receiver has a Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) to provide resistance to electronic jamming.

KEPD 350K-2

The KEPD 350K-2 is a smaller variant. It has a mass of 907 kg and a length of 4.5 m. Its operational range is greater than 500 km, consistent with the baseline KEPD 350 model.

Taurus Neo

The Taurus Neo is a planned development. The program specifications for this variant include an operational range of over 500 km, a new warhead, and an updated guidance system.

Related missile programs and concepts include the AGM-158 JASSM, HOPE/HOSBO, KD-88, Ra’ad, Ra’ad-II, SOM, Storm Shadow, YJ-22, CJ-10, Brahmos, Wan Chien, Joint Strike Missile, and Fateh Mobin.