On January 15, Airbus Defence and Space started flight tests on Taurus stand-off precision missiles on the Instrumented Production Aircraft 7 (IPA7), operated by Eurofighter Project Pilot Chris Worning. The first flight took place at Manching Military Air Systems Center in the north of Munich.

After the successful completion of the functional ground test at the end of last year and taxi tests, which were carried out up until yesterday, Airbus Defence and Space has begun an intensive flight test programme with flutter tests, air data system large store interference assessment and aerodynamic data gathering.

The activities are taking place as part of the Storm Shadow integration programme. Concurrent testing of these two similar missiles optimises the Storm Shadow integration and facilitates the future airframe integration of Taurus.

Taurus KEPD 350 is a German/Swedish missile that is manufactured by Taurus Systems GmbH, a partnership between MBDA Germany and Saab Dynamics.