| Country: |
Russian Federation |
| Alternate Name: |
Scrag, GR-1 |
| Class: |
ICBM |
| Basing: |
Silo based |
| Length: |
37.00 m |
| Diameter: |
3.00 m |
| Payload: |
Single warhead |
| Warhead: |
Nuclear |
| Propulsion: |
3 stage liquid |
| Range: |
8,000 km |
| Status: |
Terminated |
Details
Russian Designation: Possibly Scrag, GR-1
The SS-X-10 missile was the title given to several experimental third generation Russian ICBMs. A total of three different missile designs were believed to be considered for this program, though Russian sources claim the three designs were three different projects and misidentified by the US. The SS-X-10 candidate designs use the Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS), which place the warhead into a decaying orbit and allows the warhead to approach the target from any direction. This allows the warhead to avoid missile tracking systems and maintain uncertainty about the exact location of the target. Combined with a large nuclear warhead, this system is ideal for the Russian strategic doctrine calling for a large-scale pre-emptive strike designed to prevent any kind of counterattack. The three candidate designs were the GR-1, the Chelomei UR-200 and a SS-9 variant, of which only the UR-200 design is confirmed to have been flight tested.
The GR-1 design never reached flight testing, though it was designed to use the same launch and support equipment as the SS-8. It was intended to carry a 22.2 MT yield nuclear warhead with reasonable accuracy for the time period. It was designed as a three-stage liquid engine with a ‘global system’ (i.e. FOBS) that provided it with an effectively unlimited range. This missile was shown during a 1965 Moscow parade. The GR-1 is reported to have been cancelled in 1964. The GR-1 is also reported to be the sister vehicle of the SL-3 space launch vehicle.
Development of the UR-200 started in 1961. The total of nine flight tests reportedly began in 1963. The UR-200 design was 37 m long and 3 m wide. As the device was never fully tested, its specifications are unknown, but it is suspected that it was designed with inertial guidance with a single nuclear warhead. The published range estimate is 8,000 km (4,971 miles), but the FOBS system and the size of the missile suggest this range is low, especially as the GR-1 was claimed to be a ‘global system.’ It used a three-stage liquid propellant engine. It is reported that it was cancelled in 1965 in favor of the SS-9, due to the use of liquid propellants which prevented the missile from staying combat ready for any prolonged period of time.(1)
Footnotes
- Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems, Issue 46, ed. Duncan Lennox, (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2007) 586-587.
