| Country: |
Russian Federation |
| Alternate Name: |
Spider, OTR-23, Oka |
| Class: |
SRBM |
| Basing: |
Road mobile |
| Length: |
7.32 m |
| Diameter: |
0.89 m |
| Launch Weight: |
4360 kg |
| Payload: |
Single warhead, 716 to 772 kg |
| Warhead: |
Nuclear, HE fragmentation, submunitions, chemical |
| Propulsion: |
Single-stage solid |
| Range: |
500 km |
| Status: |
Obsolete |
| In Service: |
1980 |
Details
Russian Designation: OTR-23, Oka
The SS-23 is a short-range, road mobile, solid propellant ballistic missile. It is essentially a longer ranged version of the SS-21, with improved accuracy. It was originally intended as a replacement for the ‘Scud B’, but it was only in service for eleven years due to the restriction of the 1987 Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty. Due to the constraints of this treaty, the SS-23 was withdrawn in favor of the SS-26.
The SS-23 is a tactical missile system designed to provide support on a theater level. The accuracy of the SS-23 missile is sufficient to engage moving military units or hardened targets. It can be used to either destroy battlefield targets or degrade the enemy’s ability to wage war by destroying support facilities. The system is fully capable of disabling opposing missile systems, command centers and airfields, though its range is insufficient to reach larger targets secure in Western Europe. The system is also able to penetrate defensive screens and is almost impossible to intercept. Its major threat was the ability to deploy tactical nuclear weapons against NATO forces, in the event that a conventional war in Central Europe escalated.
The SS-23’s tactical utility is greatly augmented by mobility and the speed of the system. Equipped with an eight-wheeled amphibious Transporter-Erector-Launcher (TEL) vehicle, the SS-23 system is capable of extremely rapid deployment. Its speed of 60 km/hr (37 mph) enables it to keep up with mobile military units and provide support during changing military situations. The solid propellant engine of the SS-23 allows it to be fired in approximately five minutes. The TEL vehicle top encloses the missile, providing protection from both attack and the environment, allowing for deployment in any part of Russia. It also has Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) protection, giving it the ability to operate in even the most dangerous of battlefield conditions.
The SS-23 is capable of launching its payload up to a maximum range of 500 km (311 miles). The weight of the payload varies between 715 and 772 kg depending on the type of warhead; the types are high explosive (HE) fragmentation, 95 HE submunitions, chemical agents or a nuclear device. The nuclear warhead has an unknown yield, but probably a tactical level of between 50-100 kT. The missile uses an inertial guidance system coupled with an active radar terminal guidance system. This provides an accuracy of 30 m CEP. The SS-23 is 7.32 m long, 0.89 m in diameter and has a launch weight of 4,360 kg. The missile uses a single-stage solid propellant engine.
The SS-23 missile system entered service in 1980 in sites in East Germany, Russia and Czechoslovakia. According to the 1987 INF Treaty, all SS-23 missiles had to be destroyed and this was supposedly carried out by May 1991. It is unknown what happened to the nuclear warheads, as they were removed from the missiles prior to destruction process. The SS-26 theater missile was designed to escape the constraints of the INF Treaty and likely incorporates SS-23 technology. A satellite launch vehicle called the Sphere was proposed using the SS-23 system.
In 1987, the Soviet Union reported that there were 127 SS-23 missiles and 64 launcher vehicles operational, as well as 112 missiles and 42 launcher vehicles that were non-deployed. They also admitted to have exported 66 SS-23 missile systems to Bulgaria, East Germany and Czechoslovakia. According to the INF Treaty, all SS-23s were to be destroyed, not counting the exported missiles. The Bulgarians retained eight TEL vehicles and 25 missiles. The Czech Republic retained but later destroyed two TEL vehicles and twelve missiles. Slovakia destroyed its two TEL vehicles and 24 missiles. This leaves five SS-23 missiles still unaccounted.(1)
Footnotes
- Duncan Lennox, Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 46 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2007), 576-577.
