15 Facts About Scud

Scud missile is one of a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

The name Scud has been widely used to refer to these missiles and the wide variety of derivative variants developed in other countries based on the Soviet design.

Scud missiles have been used in combat since the 1970s, mostly in wars in the Middle East.

At first, the Scud-B was carried on a tracked transporter erector launcher similar to that of the Scud-A, designated 2P19, but this was not successful and a wheeled replacement was designed by the Titan Central Design Bureau, becoming operational in 1967.

The first recorded combat use of the Scud was at the end of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, when three missiles were fired by Egypt against Israeli-held Arish and bridgehead on the western bank of the Suez canal.

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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.

Scud strikes continued during the following years, intensifying sharply in 1985, with more than 100 missiles falling inside Iran.

Every Scud battery was composed of three TELs, three reloading vehicles, a mobile meteorological unit, one tanker and several command and control trucks.

At the time, reports indicated that Scud attacks had devastating consequences on the morale of the Afghan rebels, who eventually learned that by applying guerilla tactics, and keeping their forces dispersed and hidden, they could minimize casualties from Scud attacks.

The Scud was used as a punitive weapon, striking areas that were held by the resistance.

Twenty-eight members of the Pennsylvania National Guard were killed when a Scud struck a United States Army barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

Mobility of Scud TELs allowed for a choice of firing position and increased 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.

In May 2011, early during the Libyan Civil War, it was rumored that Scud-B's had been fired by Muammar Gaddafi's forces against anti-Gaddafi forces.

Local versions of Scud missiles, known as the Burkan 1 and Burkan 2-H, have been displayed and used by the Houthis beginning in September 2016.

On 11 October 2020 a Scud missile was fired from the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh at Ganja, Azerbaijan, the country's second largest city.