{"id":33850,"date":"2018-03-13T17:27:37","date_gmt":"2018-03-13T17:27:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/03\/13\/south-korea-quietly-orders-90-more-taurus-bunker-busting-missiles\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T16:16:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T16:16:48","slug":"south-korea-quietly-orders-90-more-taurus-bunker-busting-missiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/asia-pacific\/2018\/03\/13\/south-korea-quietly-orders-90-more-taurus-bunker-busting-missiles\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea quietly orders 90 more Taurus bunker-busting missiles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SEOUL, South Korea \u2014 South Korea\u2019s arms procurement agency recently signed a contract<\/a> to purchase 90 more Taurus long-range, air-launched, bunker-busting missiles, according to defense officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Defence Acquisition Program Administration, or DAPA, however, had not issued a news release on the contract, an apparent move not to harm the warming atmosphere for dialogue with the nuclear-armed North.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tension on the Korean Peninsula has eased<\/a> in the wake of meetings between North Korea and South Korea, as well as ongoing negotiations about a summit<\/a> between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The contract for the missile system, made by German company Taurus Systems GmbH, was signed late February, said Kang Hwan-seok, spokesman for the DAPA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest contract for the Taurus missile is the second of its kind since 2013, when the DAPA ordered 170 Taurus missiles to arm the fleet of F-15K fighter aircraft. Each missile costs about $1.8 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Taurus long-range air-to-surface missile is fired from a South Korean Air Force F-15K fighter jet during an exercise on Sept. 12, 2017, in Taean-gun, South Korea. (South Korean Defense Ministry via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The missile is a core asset of South Korea\u2019s \u201cKill Chain\u201d pre-emptive strike systems against North Korea\u2019s nuclear and missile programs upon imminent threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The precision-guided missile has a range of 500 kilometers and is said to be able to destroy North Korea\u2019s major underground facilities<\/a>, including Kim\u2019s hideouts, with pinpoint accuracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last September, the South Korean Air Force staged a live-fire drill of the Taurus for the first time following North Korea\u2019s sixth nuclear test Sept 3. During the drill, the air-to-surface cruise missile fired from a F-15K flew some 400 kilometers before hitting a designated target in the coastal waters off Gunsan, 200 kilometers southwest of Seoul.<\/p>\n\n\n\t