Gripen International, Gripen has achieved another significant milestone in its weapons release programme with the successful carriage of the Taurus long range stand-off missile (LRSOM). On Thursday the 20th of November, Saab's Gripen test aircraft 39.208, made a captive flight with two Taurus KEPD 350s (Kinetic Energy Penetration Destroyer).
Taurus KEPD 350 is a high precision stand-off weapon system developed by Taurus Systems, a company owned by German LFK and Saab Bofors Dynamics.
The purpose of the flight was to test the impact on Gripen's flying capability with this heavy load. The flight was carried out by FMV (Swedish Defence Material Administration) test pilot Richard Ljungberg with assistance from FMV test facilities and test personnel from Saab.
After the flight, the test team reported with great satisfaction that everything had gone as planned, and that the Gripen had displayed very good flying characteristics when fitted with the KEPD350.
