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From: emery@aries.mitre.org (David Emery)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: More on SCUDs
Message-ID: <1991Jan22.020956.21616@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 22 Jan 91 02:09:56 GMT
References: <1991Jan19.042753.5935@cbnews.att.com>
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From: emery@aries.mitre.org (David Emery)
The launcher is 12 meters long, by 3 meters wide by 2.6 meters tall.
It weighs 29.0 metric tons with the missile.  Road speed is 70 km/h.
(FM 100-2-3)
Associated with the SCUD (all Soviet ballistic missiles) is an END
TRAY ballistic meteorological radar.  
(Isby, Weapons and Tactics of the Soviet Army)
Once launched, it is a true ballistic missile with "strapdown inertial
guidance using 3 gyros to correct its ballistic trajectory...  It has
a warhead that detaches from the missile body during the final fall
toward target.  This provides additional stability and allows the
warhead to hit at a velocity above Mach 1.5."  
(Cordesman and Wagner, Lessons of Modern War v2, Iran-Iraq War)

Because it computes course changes from a ballistic trajectory,
meteorology (including air temperature, density and wind speed and
direction) are important to accurate targeting.  An error of 1 degree
in azimuth will result in the missile missing by 3.5km over a 200 km
flight.  That's why the meterology radar is important and a good
signature item.  

				dave