Europe’s Taurus Systems joint venture (JV) has been awarded a contract by the German BAAINBw defence procurement body to produce Taurus air-launched cruise missiles in an enhanced Neo-version standard.

Announced on 18 December, the order is an addition to a deal announced one year ago spanning maintenance and capability updates for Berlin’s existing stockpile of the 270nm (500km)-range weapon.

“The new contract provides further development of new and advanced capabilities, and the expanded production capacity of the Taurus,” says MBDA, which produces the system with its JV partner Saab.

“Against this backdrop, MBDA plans to produce large quantities [of Neo weapons] in Germany.”

“With Taurus Neo, Germany is specifically building up its state-of-the-art deep strike capabilities, thereby providing a critical contribution to the deterrence capabilities of Europe and NATO,” says Thomas Gottschild, MBDA executive group director strategy.

Noting that early work had already been performed under the contract announced by Berlin in December 2024, MBDA adds: “This [order] enhances the earliest possible availability of the first systems.”

The Taurus weapon is integrated with the Luftwaffe’s Panavia Tornado fleet in its current KEPD 350-guise, and also is slated for carriage by the service’s Eurofighters.

Berlin has previously indicated that updates to the cruise missile will “ensure the weapon’s operational readiness until at least 2045”.