R-17 (missile)

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R-17 (missile)

Scud missile on TEL vehicle, National Museum of Military History, Bulgaria.jpg

General Information
Type Short-range missile
Local name R-17, 8K14, 9K72 Elbrus, R-300
NATO designation SS-1c Scud-B
Country of origin Soviet Union 1955Soviet Union Soviet Union
Manufacturer OKB Makejew , SKB-385 (Votkinsk Engineering Factory)
development 1958
Commissioning 1964
Working time in action
Unit price ~ $ 1 million
Technical specifications
length 10.94-11.16 m
diameter 880 mm
Combat weight 5852-5860 kg
span 1,810 mm
drive Liquid rocket engine
speed 1500 m / s
Range 275-300 km
Furnishing
steering Inertial navigation system
Warhead 987–989 kg nuclear warhead ,
chemical warfare agents ,
fragmentation warhead,
cluster munitions
Detonator Impact and proximity fuses
Weapon platforms Trucks
Lists on the subject

The R-17 is a surface -to-surface ballistic missile from the Soviet Union . The NATO code name is SS-1c Scud-B and in the GRAU index the missile 8K14 is designated. The name for the entire complex is 9K72 Elbrus and the export version is called R-300 and R-17E . It belonged to the short-range missile class (SRBM). The R-17 missiles and their variants are still in use today and are among the most widespread short-range missiles in the world.

development

From 1952 the short-range missile R-11 was developed in the Soviet Union . This was based on the waterfall anti-aircraft missile developed in the German Reich during the Second World War . The R-11 missile was designed and developed in the OKB-1 . The creators of this rocket were the designers Sergei Pavlovich Koroljow , Viktor Petrovich Makejew and Aleksei Michailowitsch Isajew, who developed the liquid rocket engine. The Soviet Army was not very enthusiastic about the R-11 model, so that finally in 1958 the government decided to develop an improved version. In the same year development began under the designation R-11MU (8K12) . The development took place in the SKB-385 (Makejew) with the support of Koroljow. The engine was in turn developed by Isajew. Makejew had already completed the first demonstration model in February 1959, but it had little in common with the original design of the R-11. The new rocket had u. A. modified hull geometry, used a new control system and had an improved rocket engine. The first test launch of the now R-17 rocket took place on December 12, 1959 at the Kapustin Jar test site . In 1960, further development was transferred to the Votkinsk engineering factory . This is where the R-17 missiles were produced. The first missile systems were delivered to the Soviet Army in 1962. There the overall system was named 9K72 Elbrus and in the GRAU index the rocket was named 8K14 . In 1964 the R-17 system was operational. In the Votkinsk engineering factory (SKB-385), R-17 rockets and their further developments were produced up to 1987. The R-17 missile was named SS-1c Scud-B by NATO .

technology

R-17 in the Polish Army Museum in Poznan

The R-17 is a single-stage missile. The missile without a warhead is called the 8K14 . The rocket can be roughly divided into five sections: At the stern are the rocket engine, the four control surfaces and four compressed gas cylinders with 15 kg of compressed air for conveying the fuel and oxidizer tanks. The tank for the oxidizer is located above the engine and, according to an intermediate structure, the tank for the fuel. This is followed by the 0.85 m high instrument section and above the adapter ring for the warhead .

hull

The rocket fuselage consists of steel frames and aluminum stringers . This supporting structure is clad from 0.5–1 mm thick sheet steel . The fuselage has an outer diameter of 880 mm and an empty weight of 1087 kg (without warhead). On the outside there are two ducts for the cables and the compressed gas lines.

Fuel tanks

The fuel and oxidizer are in separate tanks that are designed as an integral part. The tanks are made of stainless steel sheets with a wall thickness of 2 mm. There are three or four frames in the tanks, but no stringers. As oxidizer is inhibited red fuming nitric acid (Russian name AK-27i used). As fuel is kerosene (Russian name TM-185 ) are used. The two tanks contain a total of 2919 kg of oxidizer and 822 kg of fuel. The tank pressure is 0.5  MPa . There is also a small tank for the starting fuel. This is filled with 30 kg of "TG-02 (Tonka-250)", a mixture of xylidines and triethylamine . The fuel line from the overhead fuel tank leads through the oxidizer tank to the engine.

Rocket engine

Rear view of an 8K14 missile showing the thrusters and control surfaces

The R-17 using a liquid-propellant rocket type 9D21 (S5.2) . This is a bypass engine and is based on a turbo pump with gas generator drive . There is also a downstream heat exchanger for heating up the pressurized gas for filling the tank. The combustion chamber is regeneratively cooled by the fuel. The combustion chamber pressure is almost 7 MPa during operation. The engine develops a take- off thrust of 130.53  kN on the ground . The thrust in a vacuum is 144.22 kN. On average, almost 58 kg of fuel and oxidizer are burned per second. Furthermore, four thrusters are attached to the nozzle , which are connected to the four trapezoidal control surfaces . The maximum burn time of the rocket engine for the R-17 standard rocket is 62–65 seconds.

Steering unit

There is a 0.85 m high instrument section above the fuel tank. This is where the power supply, the steering unit and the analog computer are housed. These devices are fixed to the rocket fuselage with a wooden cross and are accessible through openings in the rocket fuselage. The weight of these devices is around 240 kg. The steering unit consists of an inertial navigation system that is coupled to an analog computer. The steering unit works in a similar way to that of the A4 rocket and consists of a 1SB9 gyro horizontal and a 1SB10 gyro vertical with gyro integrator for lateral acceleration. There is also a piga speedometer (Pendulum Integrating Gyro Assembly). For the analysis and the data processing comes 1SB13 -Analogrechner used. The calculated steering impulses are transmitted to the 1B14 rowing machines , which steer the thrusters for the necessary course corrections. The maximum operating time of the steering unit is around 100 seconds.

Warheads

Building destroyed by an Iraqi R-17 in Ramat Gan , Israel (January 26, 1991)

The R-17 can optionally be equipped with a nuclear warhead, a warhead for chemical warfare agents, a conventional fragmentation warhead or a warhead for cluster munitions. In the Soviet Army, the standard warhead was nuclear and the conventional warheads were primarily intended for export. In the 1970s, for example, 1,125 R-17 missiles were available for the Soviet Army. Of these, 1080 were equipped with a nuclear warhead and the remaining 45 were intended for the use of chemical warfare agents. There are two different versions of the R-17 missiles: the standard version 8K14B with the 8F14 missile tip for nuclear warheads and the version 8K14F with the 8F44 missile tip for conventional warheads. The two versions differ in size and in the fact that the nuclear standard version 8K14B has two connections ( AK-1 and AK-2 ) for an external thermal control and an additional safety system for the nuclear warhead.

Nuclear warheads

The first nuclear warhead that was available for the R-17 from 1964 onwards was the product 269A . This warhead was developed in KB-11 (VNIIEF) in Sarow and had an explosive force of 10 kT . At the beginning of the 1970s, the 9N33 nuclear warhead followed with the RA17 nuclear charge . This nuclear charge was a hydrogen bomb and had an explosive force of 300 kT. The improved 9N33-1 nuclear warhead followed. This warhead could be equipped with different nuclear charges (RA104, RA104-01, RA104-02) and therefore had a selectable explosive force of 20 kT, 200 kT or 300 kT. The 9N72 nuclear warhead with a selectable explosive force of 200 kT, 300 kT or 500 kT has been available since the late 1970s . The nuclear warheads are housed in the conical 8F14 missile tip. This has a diameter of 884 mm at the base and is 2.87 m long. It has a weight of 989 kg of which 710 kg are accounted for by the nuclear warhead. The remaining 279 kg are accounted for by the shell, the thermal control and the safety and ignition system.

Warheads for chemical warfare agents

The first warhead for chemical warfare agents that was available for the R-17 from 1967 was the 3H8 . This warhead contained an unknown amount of the warfare agent mixture HL (Russian designation RK-7 ), which consisted of mustard and lewisite . Since this warhead had an increased weight of 1016 kg, it was only used with the modified 8K14-1 rocket. The next chemical warhead was the 8F44G Tuman-3 . This weighs 985 kg and contains 555 kg of thickened soman (Russian name VR-55 ). This was also followed by the 8F44G1 Fog-3 warhead, which holds 555 kg of thickened VX (Russian name VR-33 ). The 8F44G warheads are activated by a dismantling charge at a preselected height of around 1500 m above the target area. The detonation and the air flow turn the liquid warfare agent into an aerosol which, depending on the wind speed , spreads over an area of ​​up to 0.6 × 4.0 km and poisons it.

Conventional warheads

The export missiles are equipped with a conventional fragmentation warhead as standard. This is housed in the conical 8F44F rocket tip. This has a diameter of 884 mm at the base and is 2.65 m long. This rocket tip has a weight of 987 kg, of which 799 kg are accounted for by the fragmentation warhead and 545 kg for the explosives. The warhead has a head fuse, a bottom fuse and an emergency fuse. When detonated on sandy ground, this warhead creates a crater with a depth of 1.5–4 m and a diameter of around 12 m. A barometric proximity fuse for this warhead was also added later. This ignites the fragmentation warhead at a preselected height above the target area and thus develops an optimal fragmentation effect.

In the late 1970s, the 8F44K warhead for cluster munitions (submunitions) was introduced. This can be loaded with different cluster munitions. There is a version with 42 penetration bomblets for fighting runways . These bomblets have a diameter of 122 mm and weigh 12 kg each, of which 3 kg are the explosives. The 8F44K warhead can also be loaded with 100 fragment bomblets. These bomblets each weigh 5 kg and contain 1.2 kg of explosives. The 8F44K warhead is activated by a dismantling charge at a preselected height above the target area and distributes the cluster munitions in a radius of 160–250 m.

There are also reports of an aerosol bomb ( English Fuel-Air Explosive (FAE) ) as a warhead for the R-17 missile. However, it has not been confirmed that such a warhead was developed.

Launch and transport vehicles

The first versions of the R-17 were on the 2P19 - tracked vehicle transported. This was based on the ISU-152K . The overall system was called 9K62 . From 1965 the R-17 is transported by a four-axle truck (8 × 8) MAZ-543 . This launch and transport vehicle is called the 9P117 (old name 2P20 ). The entire system is called 9K72 Elbrus . The improved versions 9P117M and 9P117M1 followed later, the latter based on a MAZ-7911 . The 9P117M launch and transport vehicle has a crew of four and weighs 30.6 tons unloaded. It is powered by a 12-cylinder D12A-525 diesel engine with an output of 386 kW (525 hp). The vehicle is 3.02 m wide and has a length of 13.36 m. A maximum driving speed of 60 km / h is achieved on the road.

use

Mission concept

9P117M launch and transport vehicle during an exercise in the United States.

The unfueled missiles were stored in depots in the Soviet Army. With appropriate inspection, the rockets can be stored for 20–24 years. With additional maintenance and more intensive checks, the storage time can be extended by another 15 years. To use the missiles in the depot or be staging area refueled and the corresponding warhead is placed. The rockets can be stored for up to a year when fueled. The rockets are fueled by the 9P117 vehicle in the firing position transported. This means an operational advantage over the predecessor model R-11, since the R-17 can be transported and also stored when fueled. When used with a launch and transport vehicle, the R-17 rockets are mobile and can be deployed quickly. In the firing position, the rocket is positioned over the rear of the vehicle at a vertical angle of 90 ° on the 9N117 turntable. The compressed air is also introduced there. The steering unit is then checked. Now the rocket is aligned on the turntable in the direction of flight and the rocket is filled with the starting fuel TG-02. After the energy supply has been activated and the steering unit has been raised, the rocket is ready for launch. These take-off preparations take around 30 minutes in an unprepared firing position and around 15 minutes in a prepared position. After the launch, reloading and another rocket launch take around 45 minutes. The rocket launch can take place at wind speeds of up to 50 km / h and in a temperature range of −40 to +50 ° C. The rocket has a weight of 5852–5860 kg (depending on the warhead) at launch. The rocket launch takes place from a safe distance using a wired control console. The engine is started by injecting hypergolic TG-02 starting fuel into the fuel lines. The maximum burn time of the rocket engine for the R-17 standard rocket is 62–65 seconds. During this acceleration phase (English boost phase ) the steering unit determines any course corrections and transmits them to the thrusters , which change their angle of attack accordingly . After the fuel is used up, the engine and the steering unit are switched off. The rocket now has a weight of 2074-2076 kg. The rocket continues its flight without steering or drive on the trajectory of a trajectory parabola . Depending on the shooting distance, the apogee is 24–86 km. The maximum shooting distance of 300 km is covered in around 313 seconds. The minimum shooting distance of 50 km is covered in a flight time of 165 seconds. The maximum flight speed is 1500 m / s. When it hits the target area, the R-17 rocket has a speed of around 1400 m / s. Depending on the launch preparations carried out, the R-17 standard missile hits the target with a minimum accuracy ( CEP ) of 0.9 km longitudinal and 0.5 km transverse deviation. The maximum deviation is 2.7–3 km. Compared to modern ballistic surface-to-surface missiles, the R-17 is not very accurate. Without a warhead with CBRN weapons , the R-17 is only suitable for use as a terrorist weapon .

Battle structure

A Soviet R-17 brigade consisted of various batteries with six 9P117 launch and transport vehicles, which could be increased to 18 during wartime. Around 300 other vehicles for various purposes were integrated in the brigade. The R-17 brigade had a regular workforce of 1000-1500 men. In wartime the brigade could use up to 700 vehicles and was increased to up to 3500 men.

variants

R-17 Elbrus (SS-1c Scud-B)

The basic version R-17, as described above, is designated in the GRAU index 8K14 . The designation for the entire complex is 9K72 Elbrus and the export designation is R-300 and initially R-17E . This version was in service with the Soviet Army from 1964. The R-17 has a range of 275-300 km with a warhead of almost 1000 kg. From the 1980s, the R-17 was replaced in the Soviet Army by the OTR-23 Oka (NATO code name: SS-23 Spider).

R-17M Rekord (SS-1d Scud-C)

Shortly after the introduction of the R-17, a program to improve this missile was started in the Soviet Union. The aim was to develop an R-17 missile with a range of 500 km. The general R-17 concept, such as weapon effect, geometry and the technical core elements, should be retained. In 1963, the Makeyev State Missile Center (SKB-385) began developing the R-17M missile. The overall system is called the 9K72M record and the missile (without warhead) is called the 8K14M . There is also the designation 9K77 for the overall system. The modified rocket has a similar launch mass with a lower empty mass of around 1900 kg. The enlarged oxidizer tank has a common floor to the fuel tank above. Furthermore, the material thickness of the tank walls was reduced and the steering section was placed under the warhead. Instead of pressurized gas bottles, a torus tank is used in the rear. From the outside, the R-17M can hardly be distinguished from the R-17, as the dimensions and geometry match. From 1965 to 1967, the first test starts were carried out on the Kapustin Yar missile test site. The R-17M was first observed from the west in the early 1970s and was given the NATO code name SS-1d Scud-C . Technical difficulties delayed the program until the late 1960s. Since the 9K76 Temp-S medium-range missile was available from 1967 , the Soviet Army showed no interest in the R-17M and the project was canceled in the early 1970s. Newer sources assume that from the mid-1980s, as a result of the great demand for missiles of this range class, R-17M production in the Soviet Union was resumed. The INF contract stood in the way of an export , so that the Soviet Union then exported the R-17M via North Korea as an intermediary. In any case, the Scud-C appeared in North Korea , Syria and Iran around two decades after the official project termination in the Soviet Union . Older sources present these missiles as a North Korean in-house production from the late 1980s, which went into series production after only 1–2 test flights. Since North Korea had no production capacity for the R-17M core elements (engine, fuel tanks, steering unit) at that time, this seems very unlikely. North Korea also did not have the capacity to reverse engineer the missile. It can be assumed that the Soviet Union exported R-17M missiles via North Korea under the designation Hwasong-6 to Iran, Syria and other countries. The R-17M has the same dimensions as the R-17 and has a range of 450–500 km with a warhead of 750 kg. The average hit accuracy (CEP) is 700–900 m.

R-17MU (SS-1e Scud-D)

At the beginning of the 1990s, reports appeared that in Egypt , North Korea and Syria R-17 versions with an extended missile fuselage were suspected. In 1999, Indian authorities secured sketches of such a missile on the North Korean cargo ship Kuwolsan . Finally, the first test flight of this missile took place in Syria in 2000, which ended in an accident. Another test flight in 2005 was successful. Further test flights followed in 2006 and 2009 in North Korea and 2010 in Iran. Older sources also assume that this rocket, called Scud-D, was produced in-house from North Korea and Iran. Although the local names Hwasong-7/9 , Shahab-2 and Qiam are intended to suggest in-house production, in-house production of the core elements can also be ruled out in this R-17 version, as no specific development activities were observed in any of the countries. Newer sources assume an old Soviet draft from the OKB Makejew. A CIA report from 1974 mentions an R-17M version with an extended fuselage and a further increased range. However, the origin of the Scud-D missiles in Iran, North Korea and Syria remains unclear, as none of the countries had a production capacity for the core elements (engine, fuel tanks, steering unit) of such missiles at the end of the 1990s. UN weapons inspectors assume that the missile components come from Russia and were delivered to North Korea via the People's Republic of China .

There is not much reliable data about the Scud-D and some of these are contradicting each other. So z. For example, the R-17WTO rocket is also referred to as Scud-D in some sources, but this is incorrect. There are also no publicly available photos of this rocket. The rocket designated Scud-D in the west probably bears the Russian designations R-17MU and 9K72MU . This is a version of the R-17 with a missile fuselage extended to 12.41 m. So it uses the same concept as the Iraqi Scud varieties Al Hussein and Al-Abbas from the 1980s. In the R-17MU, the oxidizer tank is located in the rear of the rocket and the enlarged fuel tank connects to this tank with a common base. The steering section under the warhead was also made smaller. UDMH may be used as fuel instead of TM-185 . The use of hydrazines as oxidizer is also conceivable. The R-17MU has an unfavorable center of mass on re-entry and tends to break apart on entry into the denser air layers . Therefore, the warhead is separated from the missile body after the acceleration phase. The R-17MU has a range of over 700 km with a warhead of 500 kg. There is no reliable information about the steering unit used and the accuracy of the hit.

R-17WTO aerophone

An R-17 version with an end-phase steering system was developed in the Soviet Union. The missile will be called the R-17WTO and the entire complex will be called the 9K72-1 Aerofon or 9K72-O . In older sources, the R-17WTO is sometimes incorrectly referred to as Scud-D. The development of the R-17WTO began in 1967. After various difficulties, a first successful test flight took place on September 29, 1979, in which the warhead hit a few meters from the target. After continuing difficulties with the final phase guidance system, the first missiles were delivered to the Soviet Army in 1989 for troop tests. Immediately afterwards the project was stopped and canceled. From 1990, the warhead with the final phase guidance system was offered for a short time as an option for the R-17 missile on the export market. Work was also carried out in the 1980s on the R-17WTO2 version , which was to be equipped with a radar end-phase steering system.

In the R-17WTO the rocket is due to the increased weight warhead 8K14-1F used. The detachable warhead section has a diameter of 650 mm, is 3.92 m long and is mounted on the rocket fuselage with an adapter cone . The 9H78 warhead section weighs 1017 kg of which the warhead accounts for 500 kg. The warhead section consists of the 9E423 seeker head, the steering unit, the 9N78 fragment warhead and four honeycomb-shaped grid fins . The fragmentation warhead consists of an explosive core with 375 kg of TGAF-5M explosives and the 125 kg PWA-35 fragmentation jacket. After the rocket has been launched and the boost phase has been completed , the warhead section is separated from the rocket fuselage and flies alone on a trajectory of a trajectory parabola towards the target area. An optical DSMAC seeker head ( terrain-contour comparison ) is used for the target approach . This seeker head searches for known contrast points in the target area using a previously stored digital image file, the position of which is known in relation to the target point. A course correction is then calculated using a comparison calculation between the target and measured position. By adjusting the grid fins, the necessary course corrections are made. During tests on the Kapustin Jar test site, an average hit accuracy (CEP) of 5-50 m was achieved. The R-17WTO has a range of 235–250 km.

R-17W

The version R-17W was a short-lived version of the R-17 for air transport. For this purpose, the R-17 rocket was installed on a light semi-trailer , which was used to transport and launch the rocket. This was transported by a Mil Mi-6 Hook helicopter . The R-17W program was discontinued after some tests.

Overview of rocket models

Russian name 9K72 Elbrus, R-17 9K72M record, R-17M 9K72MU, R-17MU 9K72-1 Aerofon, R-17WTO
NATO code name SS-1c Scud-B SS-1d Scud-C SS-1e Scud-D not forgiven
drive Liquid rocket engine 9D21 (S5.2)
length 10.94-11.16 m 10.94 m 12.41 m 12.29 m
Hull diameter 880 mm
Wingspan 1810 mm
Takeoff weight 5852-5860 kg 6100 kg 7200 kg 6500 kg
Warhead 987–989 kg
conventional or nuclear 		750 kg
conventional or nuclear 		500 kg
conventional or nuclear 		1017/500 kg
conventional
Steering system Inertial navigation Inertial navigation
plus final phase guidance system
Range 275-300 km 450-500 km over 700 km 235-250 km
Hit Accuracy ( CEP ) 500-800 m 700-900 m unknown 5-50 m

Technical data

War missions

The R-17 missiles and their variants are the most widely used ballistic surface-to-surface missiles in war missions to this day. The number of missiles in action exceeded those of the A4 rocket during World War II.

Yom Kippur War

The first war mission of the R-17 took place in the final phase of the Yom Kippur War . On October 22, 1973, the Egyptian forces launched three R-17 missiles against Israeli positions on the Sinai Peninsula . The attack killed seven Israelis.

First Gulf War

During the First Gulf War (also known as the Iran-Iraq War), both Iran and Iraq deployed large numbers of R-17 missiles. In November 1980, Iraq launched 53 R-17 missiles against targets in Iran for the first time. Immediately after Iran procured an initial batch of 54 R-17 missiles from Libya in 1985, Iran's armed forces launched at least 14 R-17 missiles against Baghdad and Kirkuk . In 1986 Iran launched 8, 1987 18 and 1988 77 R-17 missiles against Baghdad (66), Mosul (9), Kirkuk (5), Takrit (1) and Kuwait (1). In 1986, Iraq launched a program to increase the range of its R-17 missiles in order to bombard the Iranian capital Tehran . Earlier, the Soviet Union had refused to medium-range missiles of the type 9K76 Temp-S to deliver to Iraq. As part of this program, Iraq began developing the Scud derivatives Al-Hussein , Al-Abbas, and Al-Hijarra , with the first missile being ready in early 1988. From February 29 to April 20, 1988 the Iraqi armed forces launched 189 R-17 and Al-Hussein missiles against Tehran, Qom and Isfahan as part of the so-called city ​​war . Iraq launched a total of 516 R-17 and Al-Hussein missiles in the conflict. Over 2,200 people were killed and more than 10,000 injured in the Iraqi missile attacks during the war. Around a quarter of Tehran's population fled the city. During the entire war, Iran launched 194 R-17 missiles, which it had obtained from Libya and the Soviet Union (partly via North Korea as an intermediary).

Libya 1986

In response to the operation El Dorado Canyon of the United States Armed Forces , launched the Libyan National Army R-17 missiles against Italy . The destination was the US Coast Guard's LORAN radio navigation station on the island of Lampedusa . The three R-17 missiles launched on April 15, 1986 missed their target by several kilometers and fell into the sea without causing any damage.

Soviet intervention in Afghanistan

During the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan , the Soviet armed forces deployed around 200 R-17 missiles against positions and villages of the resistance fighters. The extended range version R-17M was probably also used on a test basis.

Afghan Civil War

Even before they withdrew from Afghanistan, the Soviets began a massive build-up of the Afghan government army. Among them were a large number of R-17 missiles and associated vehicles from Soviet stocks. In the following Afghan civil war , the government army deployed between 1989 and 1991, depending on the source, between 1,228 and over 2,000 R-17 missiles. There are also reports that the range-extended version R-17M was also used in these operations. The targets were villages, towns and opposition bases. The retreat areas of the opposition forces within Pakistan were also occasionally fired at with R-17 missiles.

Second Gulf War

Remnants of an R-17 that sank in Tel Aviv in 1991.

During the Second Gulf War , Iraq launched 86 to 93 R-17 and Al-Hussein missiles, depending on the source. Of these, 39 to 40 rockets were launched towards Israel . There they claimed 1 death as well as 11 seriously injured and 220 slightly injured. Another 40 to 42 missiles were launched towards Saudi Arabia . The attacks there killed 30 people and injured another 175. The coalition forces used the MIM-104 Patriot air and missile defense system for the first time to defend themselves against the R-17 and Al-Hussein missiles . The kill numbers achieved by the MIM-104 Patriot are still controversial today.

Civil War in Yemen

During the civil war in Yemen in 1994, the separatists from southern Yemen launched an unknown number of R-17 missiles against targets in northern Yemen . The missiles were delivered from Russia via North Korea as an intermediary.

First Chechen War

During the First Chechen War , the Russian armed forces deployed an unknown number of R-17 missiles against targets in Chechnya .

Civil War in Libya

During the Libyan civil war in 2011 , Libyan government forces launched an unknown number of R-17 missiles against the cities of Brega and Misrata .

civil war in Syria

Since 2013, during the civil war in Syria , troops loyal to the Syrian armed forces have repeatedly deployed R-17 missiles against bases, cities and villages of the opposition forces. At the start of the hostilities, the Syrian armed forces had 26 launch and transport vehicles and 100 R-17 and R-17M missiles. These were obtained in the 1990s from Russia (partly via North Korea as an intermediary).

Houthi conflict

In response to Saudi involvement in the military intervention in Yemen , the Houthi rebels began launching ballistic missiles against Saudi Arabia in October 2016 . By mid-2018, around 40 short- and medium-range ballistic missiles had been launched from Yemen against targets in Saudi Arabia. Among other things, the Houthi rebels used the R-17, R-17M and Burkan missile types . The Burkan missiles are very likely based on the Iranian Qiam missile . This is an R-17M missile with an extended missile fuselage and a new, slim warhead. While the Burkan-1 rocket has an assumed range of 600 km, the Burkan-2 rocket is assumed to have a range of over 800 km. The Burkan missiles are very likely to have come from Iran and are believed to be smuggled into Yemen via Oman . The armed forces of Saudi Arabia use the MIM-104 Patriot air and missile defense system to defend themselves against these missiles . Although the Patriot system is successful in this conflict too, it does not provide sufficient security. Since the R-17, R-17M and Burkan missiles are not very accurate, the damage caused by the missile fire has so far been limited.

On August 17, 2016, the Aramco oil refinery in the Saudi city of Najran was hit by a Yemeni R-17 missile.

On September 2, 2016, the substation and the water desalination plant in Shuqaiq, which supplies the Saudi city of Jazan and the entire province of Jazan with water, were hit by a Yemeni R-17 missile from around 170 km away.

On November 4, 2017, a Yemeni Burkan 2-H of the Houthi militia was fired at Riyadh airport . Initially, a successful interception of the missile was reported. Later analyzes report that the missile's warhead missed the airport terminal by approximately one kilometer.

On March 25, 2018, Houthi rebels launched seven R-17 and Burkan missiles against targets in Riyadh , Jazan , Khamis Muschait and Najran in Saudi Arabia. According to the armed forces of Saudi Arabia , all missiles could be fought with Patriot anti-aircraft missiles. However, later analyzes doubt this information and it is assumed that not all missiles could be fought.

distribution

The R-17 missiles and their variants experienced a pronounced proliferation after their introduction in the Soviet armed forces . From 1966 the R-17 was exported to the Warsaw Pact countries. In the 1980s, around 15 R-17 brigades with 140 9P117 launch and transport vehicles were stationed in these states. These brigades had around 1000 R-17 missiles in stock. With the end of the Soviet Union, the Soviet armed forces still had around 35 R-17 brigades with 450 9P117 vehicles. After export to the Warsaw Pact countries, several thousand R-17 missiles were exported to Africa, Asia and the Arab world . The R-17 rockets and their further developments were produced in the Votkinsk (SKB-385) and Zlatoust engineering factories until 1987. The number of R-17 missiles produced has not been published by Russia. Western estimates put between 6,000 and 10,000 rockets.

Since the 1990s, the R-17M and R-17MU versions (and their core components) have been subject to the export controls of the Missile Technology Control Regime . These prohibit the export of ballistic missiles with a range of more than 300 km with a payload of over 500 kg. In Russia, the production of the extended-range versions R-17M and R-17MU is prohibited under the INF Treaty ratified in 1989 .

A replica or reverse engineering of R-17 missiles is suspected in Iran, Iraq and North Korea . Apart from the efforts in Iraq, little is known about the situation in Iran and North Korea.

Iraq

Iraqi R-17 missiles, photographed in 1989.

During the First Gulf War, Iraq tried to extend the range of the existing R-17 missiles. By extending the fuel tank and reducing the payload, the Al Hussein version was created with a range of around 650 km. To manufacture an Al Hussein missile, Iraq needed the components of three R-17 missiles. Later on, an enlarged fuel tank was produced in-house. Iraq could not manufacture other R-17 core elements such as the engine and the steering unit itself. Iraq wanted to achieve an additional increase in range with the Al-Hijarra missile. This was a further extended Al Hussein missile with a targeted range of around 900 km. The program was canceled after around 10 unsuccessful test flights. Iraq also wanted to use the Al-Hijarra rocket to reach the Israeli nuclear research center in the Negev . For this purpose, this missile was equipped with a penetration warhead. The Al-Hijarra project remained in the design stage after a test flight. With the end of the Second Gulf War, Iraq stopped its missile program. The remaining rockets were under Resolution 687 of the UN Security Council and the subsequent UNSCOM destroyed mission. At no point did the Iraqi missiles be exported.

Iran

From 1985, Iran obtained R-17 missiles from the Soviet Union (partly via North Korea as an intermediary and from Libya). It is questionable whether these missiles were then produced and further developed in-house. Many sources in the United States attribute this ability to Iran. However, sources from Europe report no such efforts. Accordingly, the local R-17 designations Shahab-1 Shahab-2 and Qiam should only suggest an in-house production. Rather, Iran is focused on developing medium-range missiles like the Shahab-3 , Ghadr, and Sejjil . The situation is different with the export of R-17 missiles. The Burkan missiles that appeared in Yemen in 2015 are based on the R-17M and most likely originated in Iran.

North Korea

There are also some strikingly contradicting sources about the situation in North Korea. Sources in the United States believe that the R-17, R-17M, and R-17MU missiles have been reverse engineered and exported since the late 1980s. Newer sources from Europe do not attribute this capacity to North Korea. Rather, it is believed that the R-17 missiles from North Korea are remnants from Russia. So are z. B. provided many of the R-17 variants from North Korea with Cyrillic characters . The Hwasong-5 , Hwasong-6 and Hwasong-7 are therefore not missiles developed in North Korea, but merely local names for the Russian R-17 missiles.

User states

9P117M launch and transport vehicle of the Afghan National Army .

Source from

literature

  • Lennox Duncan: Jane's Strategic Weapon Systems . Edition 2001, 34th edition Edition, Jane's Information Group, 2001, ISBN 0-7106-0880-2 .
  • Podvig Pavel: Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. MIT Press, 2004, ISBN 0-262-16202-4 .
  • Schmucker Robert & Schiller Markus: Missile Threat 2.0: Technical and Political Basics . Mittler Verlag, 2015, ISBN 3-8132-0956-3 .
  • Zaloga Steven, Laurier Jim & Ray Lee: Scud Ballistic Missile Launch Systems 1955-2005 . Osprey Publishing, 2006, ISBN 1-84176-947-9

Web links

Individual evidence

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