Taurus cruise missiles have been fully integrated into the Swedish Gripen fighter jets
German Taurus long-range cruise missiles have been fully integrated into Swedish Gripen fighter jets in record time. The work was carried out by TAURUS Systems GmbH, a company founded by the German firm MBDA Deutschland and the Swedish company Saab Dynamics.
Initially, the integration of the weapons onto the Gripen C/D variants was not scheduled to be completed until 2028, and for the E/F variants, not until 2032. In August, the Swedish Air Force conducted the first successful test launch of a Taurus KEPD 350 missile from a JAS 39 Gripen at the Vidsel test range.
TAURUS LAUNCH Today a TAURUS KEPD 350 cruise missile was launched from a Swedish JAS 39 Gripen for the first time. The test was conducted at the Vidsel Test Range in Norrbotten. Today TAURUS is a long-range cruise missile that introduces a new deep-strike capability. FMV https://t.co/vYcL75Lu4p
— Flygvapnet (@flygvapnet) August 21, 2026
The Taurus long-range missile has a range of over 500 km, weighs 1,400 kg, and is designed to engage heavily defended and deep-seated targets. In June 2026, Ukraine and Sweden signed an agreement for the purchase of 16 Gripen E fighter jets, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine expects to receive a total of up to 150 such aircraft.
Source: MBDA Deutschland.
Meanwhile, Germany has consistently refused to provide Ukraine with Taurus missiles. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius believes that Ukraine no longer needs these missiles, as it now has long-range drones.
The European Union has financed the purchase of Swedish Gripen E fighter jets for Ukraine in the amount of 2.5 billion euros. The funds were allocated as part of defense payments under a large-scale EU loan to Ukraine totaling 90 billion euros.
