German finance minister ousted amid Ukraine missile dispute

According to the portal Berliner Zeitung.de, citing Christian Lindner's statement, his dismissal resulted from a dispute concerning allocating €3 billion to Ukraine. Christian Lindner criticised this idea due to the country's difficult situation and suggested that Ukraine be given what it currently needs most.

This refers to the long-range cruise missile TAURUS KEPD 350, whose delivery to Ukraine had been under discussion since mid-2023. Chancellor Olaf Scholz reportedly categorically disapproved and then dismissed the FDP coalition politician from the position of finance minister. This led to the resignation of other FDP ministers and sparked a political crisis.

The Taurus KEPD 350 cruise missile was developed through cooperation between Berlin and Stockholm, which began back in the 1990s. A decade earlier, Germany had been seeking similar weaponry, collaborating with France on a missile programme that later transformed into the Storm Shadow.

However, Germany withdrew from this venture for political reasons and decided to develop its own missile with Sweden. The result was the Taurus KEPD 350, introduced into service in 2005, whose name stands for Kinetic Energy Penetration Destroyer.

The Taurus KEPD 350 is a cruise missile with a range exceeding 500 kilometres, produced using stealth technology. It is five metres long and weighs approximately 1,400 kilograms, so it is designed for launch from aircraft. It features an intriguing 480-kilogram MEPHISTO (Multi-Effect Penetrator Highly Sophisticated and Target Optimised) warhead.

Its weight class is similar to that of the Storm Shadow, but it features a very advanced fuse. This fuse, in addition to detonating on impact or in the air, can also explode with a delay, for example, after penetrating two walls. The fuse in the Taurus has additional sensors that detect obstacles and voids, allowing it to "count floors" and programme detonation on a specific bunker floor.

Comparatively, competitive missiles have their detonation delay set manually before the aircraft's flight based on data such as target material type or wall thickness. This means that there's always a margin of error, which is not present with the Taurus.

A turbofan engine provides propulsion, enabling the missile to maintain subsonic speeds (from 0.8 to 0.9 Mach) at low altitudes. Meanwhile, precise targeting is ensured by a tandem of inertial and satellite navigation, combined with a fourth-generation (IIR) optoelectronic head that sees the target's thermal image.

This additionally tracks the terrain and compares it with a preloaded map, ensuring the missile always hits the target even in environments with heavy satellite navigation jamming. It would be the third weapon, following the Storm Shadow missiles and MGM-140 ATACMS ballistic missiles, that would significantly enhance the Ukrainians' capabilities.