Scud

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"SS-1" redirects here. For other uses, see SS-1 (disambiguation).

For other uses, see Scud (disambiguation).

Polish missile wz. 8K14 from R-17 system (SS-1c Scud-B)

Scud is a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War and exported widely to other countries. The term comes from the NATO reporting name SS-1 Scud which was attached to the missile by Western intelligence agencies. The Russian names for the missile are the R-11 (the first version) and R-300 Elbrus (later developments). The name Scud has been used by media and other entities to refer to not only these missiles but to the wide variety of missiles developed in other countries based on the Soviet design. Occasionally in the United States news media, Scud is applied to any country's ballistic missiles not of Western origin.

1 Soviet development
2 Operational use
3 Scud hunting
4 Other nations
5 General characteristics
6 Trivia
7 Notes
8 See also
9 External links

[edit] Soviet development

The first use of the term Scud was in the NATO name SS-1b Scud-A, applied to the R-11 ballistic missile. The earlier R-1 missile had carried the NATO name SS-1 Scunner, but was of a very different design, almost directly a copy of the German V-2. The R-11 used technology gained from the V-2 as well, but was a new design, smaller and differently shaped than the V-2 and R-1 weapons. The R-11 was developed by the Makeyev OKB and entered service in 1957. The most revolutionary innovation in the R-11 was the engine, designed by A.M. Isaev. Far simpler than the V-2's multi-chamber design, and employing an anti-oscillation baffle to prevent chugging, it was a forerunner to the larger engines used in Russia's space rockets.

Further developed variants were the R-300 Elbrus / SS-1c Scud-B in 1961 and the SS-1d Scud-C in 1965, both of which could carry either a conventional high-explosive, a 5 to 80 kiloton nuclear, or a chemical (thickened VX) warhead. The SS-1e Scud-D variant developed in the 1980s can deliver a conventional high-explosive warhead, a fuel-air warhead, 40 runway-penetrator sub-munitions, or 100 × 5 kg anti-personnel bomblets.

All models are 11.25 meters long (except Scud-A, which is one meter shorter) and 0.88 meters in diameter. They are propelled by a single engine burning either kerosene and nitric acid in the Scud-A, or UDMH and RFNA (Russian SG-02 Tonka 250) in other models.

[edit] Operational use

Scud missile (including derivatives) is one of the few ballistic missiles to be used in actual warfare, second only to V2 in terms of combat launches (the SS-21 being the only other ballistic missile fired "in anger"). Libya responded to US airstrikes in 1986 by firing several Scud missiles at a US Coast Guard station on the nearby Italian island of Lampedusa. Scud missiles were used in several regional conflicts that included use by Soviet and Afghan Communist forces in Afghanistan, and Iranians and Iraqis against one another in the so-called "War of the cities" during the Iran-Iraq War. Scuds were also used by Iraq during the Persian Gulf War against Israel and coalition targets in Saudi Arabia.

More than a dozen Scuds were fired from Afghanistan at targets in Pakistan in 1988. There was also a small number of Scud missiles used in the 1994 civil war in Yemen and by Russian forces in Chechnya in 1996 and onwards.

Countries that possess or have possessed Scud-Bs are: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Poland, Slovakia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Yemen and Yugoslavia. The Democratic Republic of Congo and Egypt have purchased Scud-Cs in addition to Scud-Bs. Syria has acquired the Scud-D, and Iraq's Al Hussein missile also has a Scud-D range. North Korea also has Scud missiles after the 2006 missile tests.

[edit] Scud hunting

All "Scud" versions derive from the German V-2 rocket, as were most early American missiles and rockets. They are highly inaccurate due to their construction. In this respect, Scud can be considered an area bombing weapon. The Iraqi modifications increased range, at the cost of accuracy.

As with some other missiles, the military advantage of this weapon consists in its ease of transportation, on a TEL vehicle. This mobility allows for a choice of firing position and increases the survivability of the weapon system (to such an extent that, of the approximately 100 launchers claimed destroyed by coalition pilots and special forces in the Gulf War, not a single destruction could be confirmed afterwards).

The name "Scud" is also used to refer to an Iraqi modification of the same missile, the Al Hussein. Altered for greater range, it came to particular prominence during the "War of the cities" when Iraq fired 190 Scud missiles at Iranian cities including Tehran.^[1] These were also used during the Gulf War, when a number of missiles were fired at Israel (40) and Saudi Arabia (46). The US-made Patriot missile system claimed successes in shooting down the missiles, but many critics (see Ted Postol) claim that the accuracy of the Patriot missiles has been greatly exaggerated and they were actually 95% unsuccessful. One problem was the Scud missile disintegrating as it approached the target meaning that it was difficult to target and know which pieces were the warhead and which were other debris. The missiles were one of Iraq's most threatening offensive weapons, especially to Israel. There was great concern that they would be armed with chemical or biological warheads.

In the end the Scuds were responsible for most of the coalition deaths outside of Iraq and Kuwait. They killed one Israeli directly and one Saudi security guard. Twenty-eight US soldiers were killed when one struck a United States Army barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

Scuds were the only weapon Iraq had capable of striking back at coalition and strategic targets. Coalition forces in the Persian Gulf War found it difficult to find and destroy mobile Scud launchers operating in western Iraq. Aircraft rarely identified targets well enough to deliver ordanance. The hunt for Scuds used up some one third of the Coalition air power, using A-10s by day and the advanced F-15E at night. The missles were carried on the backs of transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) trucks, easily hidden in various shelters and under bridges and were hard to track down by air. Ground based special forces from the United States and the United Kingdom were sent to scout for lanchers behind enemy lines, in some cases attacking them directly with man-portable missles.^[2] Removing the threat of Scuds was of particular importance to the said parties, as Israel had threatened to enter the war against Iraq if attacks continued, which could have split anti-Israel Arab states in the alliance.

The Iraqis developed four versions: Scud, longer-range Scud or Scud LR, Al Hussein, and Al Abbas. Apart from the almost unmodified weapon, these were not successful missiles as they tended to break up in flight and had small warheads.

[edit] Other nations

The North Korean, Iranian, and Pakistani missile programs have used Scud technology to develop missiles with ranges said to be in the 1300 to 1500 kilometer range.

[edit] General characteristics

NATO	Scud-A	Scud-B	Scud-C	Scud-D
U.S. DIA	SS-1b	SS-1c	SS-1d	SS-1e
Deployment Date	1957	1965	1965	1980s
Withdrawn	1978
Range	130 km	300 km	575-600 km	700 km
CEP (NATO estimate)	4000 m	900 m	900 m	50 m