Iris Friesen

The topic of Taurus missiles is a sensitive one. Let me explain why. This will be both an explanation and an answer to some skeptics who say: “We help Ukraine, but what is Ukraine doing for us?” Here is an example. The IRIS-T air defense system. An excellent German system, and we are grateful to its manufacturers. Every type of defense is important for Ukraine, but it is also important for German industry. We have made IRIS-T the world’s number one system after the Patriot, which is an anti-ballistic system. Today, it costs somewhere between $600,000 and around $1 million to $1.5 million. That’s the result of this war. We have also helped address all the problem areas, because only in a real war can you truly eliminate the weaknesses of a particular defense system. Germany now has orders backed up for 10 to 20 years. The cost of a missile has gone up severalfold, even by tens of times. And all of this means jobs. Why do we want to order Taurus missiles? Because when the Americans were unable to supply us with anti-ballistic interceptors for our air defense, we were left with only one option: to destroy Russian launchers. They have built entire launch sites and are killing us, while we have no way to defend ourselves. These are not civilian targets, infrastructure, or energy facilities. That is why we really wanted to order Taurus missiles. And not simply to order them, but, once again, to test them as well. It benefits both sides. From an interview with ZDF. (3/3)