| Country: |
Iraq |
| Alternate Name: |
Project 1728, Al Hijara |
| Class: |
SRBM |
| Basing: |
Road mobile |
| Length: |
12.46 m |
| Diameter: |
0.88 m |
| Launch Weight: |
6400 kg |
| Payload: |
Single warhead, 500 kg |
| Warhead: |
HE blast/fragmentation, chemical, biological |
| Propulsion: |
Single-stage liquid |
| Range: |
630 km |
| Status: |
Operational |
| In Service: |
1988 |
Details
The Al Hussein is a short-range, road mobile, solid propellant ballistic missile. Originally thought to be an entirely new missile, it is now known as a variant on the Russian 'Scud B.'
A strategic weapon designed to attack strategic targets, the Al Hussein delivers its payload of 500 kg up to a range of 630 km (391 miles). This payload can be equipped with a conventional high explosive, chemical, or biological warhead. It is known that Iraq developed chemical and chemical submunitions for the Al Hussein, as well as biological versions. The Al Hussein uses a primitive inertial guidance system that gives it an accuracy of between 1,000 and 3,000 m CEP. It is believed to have been launched from modified Russian 'Scud B' TEL vehicles. It is 12.46 m long, 0.88 m in diameter, and has a launch weight of 6,400 kg. It uses a single-stage liquid propellant engine.
The accuracy on the Al Hussein is such that it can only be effectively used against extremely large targets, as it can land as far as two miles away from the intended target. As such, it is useful to strike population centers, large military staging areas and oil fields, but little else. The mobility of the launchers provides a survivability, even in the face of U.S. efforts to eliminate them.
It is believed that the Al Hussein entered development during the early 1980s, with the first test firing being reported in 1987. Iraq is believed to have received foreign assistance in its development, with China, Egypt, and France being the most mentioned possibilities. The Al Hussein was most likely built to allow Iraq to strike Tehran, the capital of Iran (with whom Iraq was at war with for much of the 1980s), as well as to attack Iranian oil fields. It is reported that as many as 190 Al Hussein missiles were fired against Iran during the early months of 1988.
During the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Iraq launched 43 missiles against strategic targets in Saudi Arabia while another 39 were fired at Israel, in hopes of inciting an Islamic jihad against Israel and the U.S. During this period, Iraq suggested that it had developed a new missile under the name Al Hijara, but this was simply an Al Hussein variant. The fall of Iraq following the 2003 Iraq War eliminated the direct threat of the Iraq weapon programs but likely resulted in the concealment and transfer of weapon technology.
It is important to note that the Al Hussein missile had a range well past the 150 km limit established by the United Nations. It is known that the Iraqi government falsified its weapon declaration following the 1991 conflict, as well as restarting production following the expulsion of the weapons inspectors in 1998, so the exact number and location of the remaining Al Hussein missiles is unknown. Following the change in the Iraqi government following the 2003 conflict, there is currently little risk in the continued production of Al Hussein missiles. However, it is unlikely that all the remaining Al Hussein missiles were uncovered, and the missiles could be easily hidden or transferred. It is estimated that between 15 and 50 missiles remain hidden. Unconfirmed reports state that some of these missiles may have been moved to Yemen or Sudan. The 2003 invasion of Iraq allowed for a more intensive search but no missiles were uncovered.(1) There remains a threat from these weapons in the hands of radical groups or nearby countries.(2)
Footnotes
- Duncan Lennox, ed., Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 46 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2007), 75-76.
- Duncan Lennox, ed., Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 42 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2005), 104-105.
