The Swedish Armed Forces are equipping the Jas Gripen with the Taurus cruise missile – which can hit targets at a distance of more than 500 km. This is the first time Sweden has acquired an attack missile with such a long range. The Swedish Armed Forces state that this is a new capability, which is to be operational in 2028 on the Jas 39 C. The new Gripen E will also receive the Taurus missile at a later stage. – This is something that the Swedish Air Force has wanted for a long time. It allows you to hit targets in depth. The adversary already has such weapons, so you are at a disadvantage if you do not have them, says Mats Helgesson, former Chief of the Air Force. The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration, FMV, has been tasked with ordering the missile from Germany. It will then be integrated into the Gripen system. The news is contained in an appendix to the Swedish Armed Forces’ annual report, which has just been made public. Taurus was developed by German MBDA together with Saab Bofors Dynamics. It is a cruise missile, which can, among other things, strike bunkers, radar stations and other targets far behind enemy lines. Taurus has several, combined navigation systems, such as image recognition, inertial navigation and GPS. Ukraine has previously wanted Taurus from Germany, because it can find its way even if Russia disrupts satellite navigation in an area. But Germany said no. According to Saab, Taurus has a range of more than 500 kilometers, which means that the air force's offensive range increases significantly. Sweden already has Robot 15. But it is a naval target missile that is on the defense's warships and fighter aircraft and has a range of 100 kilometers. The new version of the missile, Gungnir, has a range of 300 kilometers. The Taurus therefore reaches significantly further - and is used against targets on the ground to reduce an opponent's attack ability. – You can shoot them down from Swedish terrain, and hit targets in Russia. You don't have to go in and drop a bomb over the target, says Mats Helgesson. He believes that the new missile makes a big difference in the threat that Swedish fighter jets can pose to Russia. – Especially if, for example, you can fly all the way into the Baltic-Russian area. Then you reach far into Russia, says Mats Helgesson. In the latest defense decisions, the Riksdag has stated that the Air Force will receive so-called long-range capability. But it is only now that it is clear which cruise missile it is. – Taurus is a very good cruise missile and it is available in several different versions, says Mats Helgesson.