What is a Scud Missile?

Question

By it's own classification, it was definately on the list of WMD that Sadam kept insisting from 1991 to the invasion in 2003 that his country did not possess.
http://www.parliament.uk/post/pn072.pdf

and for benefit of FACTOIDS out there - Technical Details

Range (km) 285-330 CEP (m) 450 iam. (m) 0.885
Height (m) 11.184 L. W. (kg) 5,860 Stage Mass (kg) ~4,873
D. W. (kg) ~1,100-1,110 Thrust (Kg f) Effective: 13,160
Actual: 13,300-13,380 Burn time (sec.) 62-64
Isp. (sec.) Effective: 62 - SL due to vanes steering drag loss of 4-5 sec. Actual: 230 Vac.: 271 Thrust Chamb. 1 Stages 1
Fuel TM-185 20% Gasoline 80% Kerosene Oxidizer AK-27I
27% N2O4 73% HNO3 Iodium Inhibitor Propellant Mass (kg) 3,771-3,760 Warhead (kg) 987-1,000 Type Tactical

So, I guess my REAL question should be -
Do we believe a bbc report - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4985170.stm
OR
What REALLY came through the air that day - a bird, a plane, Superman or a mythical WMD?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4985170.stm

Scott Garthley was a Territorial Army soldier who served in Iraq.

Mr Garthley, from Northampton, was injured in a Scud missile attack on March 29 2003.

http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?scope=all&edition=d&q=British+soldier+injured+by+scud+missile+Iraq

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=British+soldier+injured+by+scud+missile+Iraq&meta=

http://www.parliament.uk/post/pn072.pdf

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/dprk/missile/hwasong-5.htm

UK ANSWERS ONLY PLEASE.. given the news report is British, the EYE WITNESS is BRITISH, and I'm giving the US "sensibilities" a rest today !

Range (km) 285-330
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps

Hmmmmm

Type in Al Basrah and scroll down to 200Km radius (the next one is 500Km !)
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps

Answer 1

The Scud missiles were developed by the Soviet union during the cold war.scud Scud was first deployed by the Soviets in the mid-1960s. The missile was originally designed to carry a 100-kiloton nuclear warhead. With only a few kg of substances left, it is very difficult for the missile to reach it target precisely.Realy in the military it is difficult to know the availability of a weapon unless hard proof is provided so no one know if saddams claims where true or false.

Answer 2

A Scud is a Soviet Designed Missle. The Soviets had the capability of mounting Chemical and Bio agents on it.
The Iraqis modified the design badly. They fired Scuds with High Explosive Warheads at Israel in the Gulf War. Half of them fell apart before hitting. You really don't want to mount a Bio Agent on a missle and have it fall apart.

Since the evidence now shows that Iraq really did destroy all of thier WMDs before the US Invasion. The point is moot
But SCUD is just a type of missle and has nothing to do with the warhead.

Answer 3

well dang the intercept of a patriot and a scud over my head in Saudi Arabia must been a figment of my imagination along with the sonic boom less not forget the others i heard. But the one up close and person was convincing enough for me, and no i didn't wait around without chemical gear to find out if it had chemicals or not, The next day I saw the fragments I guess that to was my imagination getting the best of me.

Answer 4

Scud missiles are not WMD and they were not on any list of WMDs.

They were forbidden to the Iraqis under the ceasefire agreement of 1991, which banned all missiles capable of a certain range..I think it was anything over 190 miles, but I might be off a bit there.

The aim was to prevent the Iraqis from employing any sort of medium range ballistic missile.

Answer 5

No way. Hamas has homestead-made rockets that motives minimum damage. as well, Israel has the Patriot air protection missile gadget that's truly affective adverse to scuds. The chance is more beneficial from Israel than from Hamas.

Answer 6

scud missile should be renamed to the DUD missile because that is all its ever been. i have seen rocks being chucked in palestine reach further and with more accuracy towards its target. what is the point of this so called scrub missile. way beyond me?

Answer 7

True, he was a threat and either way, we would have had to have done something one day. If we did not, he most certainly would have gotten hot headed and done something to us. Even if it was not him, it probably would have been some other country.

Answer 8

any idiot with the ability to kill more then 1 person at a time is a threat to somebody and when that idiot starts out killing folks with poison gas he is only another weapon acquisition away from killing a bunch ofsomebody elses...he had to go...stop whining about Bush and the war...its justified....maybe not the way its being handled now,but the original intent was good

Answer 9

Whether anyone chooses to believe it or not, Sadam was an immediate threat to the USA and he got what he deserved.