LONDON — Syria has launched at least two Scud D medium-range
missiles in the military's biggest test of the North Korean-developed
system.
Western intelligence and Israeli sources said Syria fired the Scud D
missiles on May 27 toward the Jordanian and Turkish border. They said at
least one Scud D flew more than 400 kilometers and was exploded in the Hatay
district of Turkey.
Villagers had reported an explosion in the sky followed by the landing of debris.
"An investigation by military units in the region assessed that the parts in question could possibly belong to a missile originating from Syria," the General Staff said over the weekend, according to Geostrategy-Direct.com.
Syria has acknowledged conducting a
missile test during a military exercise last week, Middle East Newsline reported. But neither Syria nor
Turkey identified the missile.
This was the first Scud D missile test by Syria since 2001 and was
deemed critical to continued development of the weapon. The sources said
this was also the first time the Scud D missiles, which could be fitted with
a biological and chemical warhead, were fired in a salvo.
The sources said the Syrian missile test was monitored and recorded by
both Israeli satellites as well as Israel's Green Pine long-range radar. The
Green Pine, meant to detect and track ballistic missile launches, has been a
key element of the Arrow-2 missile defense system.
Israel shared the information on the Syrian Scud D test with both Turkey
and the United States, the sources said.
The sources did not say whether the Scud D was fitted with a weapons of
mass destruction warhead. But they said the explosion of the Scud D in the
air could have constituted a test of the air-burst chemical warhead design.
The sources said a Scud B missile, with a range of 300 kilometers was
also fired during the Syrian exercise. All of the missiles were fired from
mobile launchers from a military base north of Aleppo.
The Scud D has a range of about 700 kilometers, the sources said. The
missile's warhead separates from the rest of the projectile soon after
launch and proceeds to its target in a design meant to enhance range and
accuracy.
North Korea produced and delivered the first Scud Ds to Syria in the
late 1990s. In 2002, Syria embarked on serial production of the Scud D. The
intelligence sources said Damascus has the capability of producing about 20
Scud Ds per year.
