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R-11 / SS-1B SCUD-A
R-300 9K72 Elbrus / SS-1C SCUD-B

The Scud is a mobile, Russian-made, short-range, tactical ballistic surface-to-surface (hence the nomenclature abbreviation SS) missile system. The SCUD-series guided missiles are single-stage, short-range ballistic missiles using storable liquid propellants. The Scud is derived from the World War II-era German V-2 rocket. Unlike the FROG series of unguided missiles, the SCUDs have movable fins. Warheads can be HE, chemical, or nuclear, and the missile, launched vertically from a small platform, has a range of 300 km. Unsophisticated gyroscopes guided the missile only during powered flight - which lasts about 80 seconds. Once the rocket motor shut down, the entire missile with the warhead attached coasted unguided to the target area. Consequently, Scuds had notoriously poor accuracy, and the farther they flew, the more inaccurate they became. SCUD missiles are found in SSM (SCUD) brigades at front/army level. The SCUD series of missiles gave the Soviet front and army commanders an integral nuclear weapons capability. Non-nuclear variants of the SCUD missiles have been exported to both Warsaw Pact and non-Warsaw Pact nations.

• The SCUD-A is also known as SS-1b. The SCUD-B replaced the JS-3-mounted SCUD-A, which had been in service since the mid-1950s.
• The longer range SCUD B, also known as SS-1c, can be distinguished by the one meter greater length of the missile and the presence of two air bottles on the side of the superstructure in place of the single bottle used for the "SCUD A" missile. The SCUD B used unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH), a more powerful (and toxic) fuel than the kerosene used on the SCUD A, which required an engine redesign. They were transported originally on a heavy-tracked vehicle based on the JS heavy-tank chassis. This vehicle serves also as an erector and launcher for the missiles. The SCUD-B was introduced on the JS-3 tracked chassis in 1961 and appeared on the MAZ-543 wheeled chassis in 1965. The "SCUD B" missile has appeared on a new transporter-erector-launcher based on the MAZ-543 (8x8) truck. The introduction of this new powerful cross-country wheeled vehicle gave this missile system greater road mobility, reduces the number of support vehicles required, and still preserves a great choice in selecting off-road firing positions. The same basic chassis also has been used for the transporter-erector-launcher for the "SCALEBOARD" surface-to-surface guided missile. In the early 1980s, the SCUD-B was replaced by the SS-23, which has greatly improved range (500 km), increased accuracy, and reduced reaction and refire times.
• The SCUD-C SS-1d achieved an initial operational capability with Soviet forces around 1965. It had a longer range, though lower accuracy, than the SCUD B, and was deployed in smaller numbers. As of the late 1990s some remained in service in Russian ground forces.
• The SCUD-D SS-1e featured an improved guidance system, possibly incorporating active radar terminal homing, and a wider choice of warheads than its predecessors. This missile has a range of about 700 km. Initially operational in the 1980s, it may not have been deployed by former Soviet ground forces.

A second SCUD-followon effort began in the form of the SS-26, which apparently entered service by 1999. The SS-26 SRBM is expected to be both a replacement for the SS-1c/Scud B and an export. By the early 1990s, the `Scud' system was unquestionably obsolete and many of the 9P117 launcher vehicles were retired due to age.

SCUD-A

SCUD-B/C

Sources and Resources

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