Nico Lange, founder and director of the Institute for Risk Analysis and International Security, said the planned deployment was meant to address a long-standing imbalance in Europe’s deterrence posture.
The Iskanders based in Kaliningrad can reach “large parts of NATO territory, including Germany,” he said. The response was supposed to be a U.S. force equipped with Typhon missile launchers firing both Tomahawks and modified Navy SM-6 missiles.
Europe has no immediate replacement for the Tomahawks.
A Russian Iskander-E missile launcher is on display at the International Military Technical Forum ‘Army 2022’ in August 2022, Moscow. | Contributor/Getty Images
“This was about closing a deterrence gap,” Lange said. Without such capabilities, he warned, Germany remains vulnerable to pressure from Moscow. “Deterrence gaps always mean potential coercion.”
Germany’s three options
One immediate option is for Germany to upgrade the Taurus, which currently has a range of about 500 km. Berlin paused production of the missile, but is planning to restart making the Taurus Neo version.
“We are modernizing our Taurus stockpiles and developing the successor, Taurus Neo,” defense ministry spokesperson Mitko Müller told reporters on Monday.