The R-17 Elbrus, GRAU index 9K72 is a tactical ballistic missile

Tactical ballistic missile

A tactical ballistic missile is a ballistic missile designed for short-range battlefield use. Typically, range is less than . Tactical ballistic missiles are usually mobile to ensure survivability and quick deployment, as well as carrying a variety of warheads to target enemy facilities, assembly...

, initially developed by the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

. It is also known by its NATO reporting name SS-1 Scud-B. It is one of several Soviet missiles to carry the reporting name Scud

Scud

Scud is a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and exported widely to other countries. The term comes from the NATO reporting name SS-1 Scud which was attached to the missile by Western intelligence agencies...

; the most prolifically launched of the series, with a production run estimated at 7,000. Also designated R-300 during the 1970s, the R-17 was derived from the R-11 Zemlya

R-11 Zemlya

The R-11 Zemlya,, GRAU index 8A61 was a Soviet tactical ballistic missile. It is also known by its NATO reporting name SS-1 Scud-A. It was the first of several similar Soviet missiles to be given the reporting name Scud....

. It has been operated by 32 countries and manufactured in four countries outside the Soviet Union. It is still in service with some.

The first mock-up

Battleship (rocketry)

In rocketry, a battleship is a non-functional rocket or rocket stage which is used to test configuration and integration of a launch vehicle.The term should not be confused with the term boilerplate, which refers to a non-functional spacecraft....

 was designed and built by Makeev in 1958–1959, before the programme was transferred to the Votkinsk Machine Building Plant

Votkinsk Machine Building Plant

Votkinsk Plant State Production Association is a machine and ballistic missile production company based in Votkinsk, Russia...

 in 1959 for mass production. The first launch was conducted in 1961, and it entered service in 1964.

The R-17 featured important improvements over the R-11. The Isayev RD-21 engine used a combination of inhibited red fuming nitric acid

Red fuming nitric acid

Red fuming nitric acid is a storable oxidizer used as a rocket propellant. It consists mainly of nitric acid , also containing 13% dinitrogen tetroxide and 3% water. The dissolved nitrogen dioxide is very concentrated and can be found at room temperature...

 (IRFNA) oxidiser and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) fuel, fed into the combustion chamber

Combustion chamber

A combustion chamber is the part of an engine in which fuel is burned.-Internal combustion engine:The hot gases produced by the combustion occupy a far greater volume than the original fuel, thus creating an increase in pressure within the limited volume of the chamber...

 by fuel pumps that ensured a more consistent thrust. The guidance system, active only during the boosted phase, uses three gyroscope

Gyroscope

A gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation, based on the principles of angular momentum. In essence, a mechanical gyroscope is a spinning wheel or disk whose axle is free to take any orientation...

s, that give it a CEP of 450m (900m according to western sources.) A nuclear warhead was designed for the R-17, with a selectable yield, from 5 to 70 kilotons. However it could also carry a chemical warhead, containing 555 kg of viscous VX

VX (nerve agent)

VX, IUPAC name O-ethyl S-[2-ethyl] methylphosphonothioate, is an extremely toxic substance whose only application is in chemical warfare as a nerve agent. As a chemical weapon, it is classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations in UN Resolution 687...

; a conventional weapon, with a single high explosive warhead; or a series of fragmentation payloads, using either high explosive, anti-tank or anti-runway munitions.

At first, the R-17 was carried on a tracked TEL similar to that of the R-11, designated 2P19, but this was not very successful, as the vibration of the tracks had a tendency to interfere with the launch electronics. Production of this model was halted after Khrushchev

Nikita Khrushchev

Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...

 cancelled the production of heavy tanks in 1962, and a wheeled launcher was designed by the Titan Central Design Bureau, becoming operational in 1967. The new MAZ-543 vehicle was officially designated 9P117 Uragan, and its Russian crews nicknamed it Kashalot (sperm whale

Sperm Whale

The sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, is a marine mammal species, order Cetacea, a toothed whale having the largest brain of any animal. The name comes from the milky-white waxy substance, spermaceti, found in the animal's head. The sperm whale is the only living member of genus Physeter...

), because of its size. The eight-wheeled MAZ-543 has a loaded weight of 37,400 kg, a road speed of 55 km/h and a range of 650 km. It can carry out the launch sequence autonomously, but this is usually directed from a separate command vehicle. The missile is raised to a vertical position by means of hydraulically-powered cranes, which usually takes four minutes, while the total sequence lasts about one hour.

It is rumored that Scud-B's have been fired by Gaddafi forces against rebels in the 2011 Libyan Civil War

2011 Libyan civil war

The 2011 Libyan civil war was an armed conflict in the North African state of Libya, fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Benghazi beginning on 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security...

 during the first phase of the war. On 14 August 2011 a confirmed Scud-B launch was detected by a US Aegis

Aegis combat system

The Aegis Combat System is an integrated naval weapons system developed by the Missile and Surface Radar Division of RCA, and now produced by Lockheed Martin...

 destroyer, with the missile fired from Sirte

Sirte

Sirte is a city in LibyaSirte may also refer to:* Sirte Declaration, a 1999 resolution to create the African Union* Sirte Oil Company, a Libyan oil companyIn geography:* Gulf of Sirte, alias for Gulf of Sidra on Libya's coast...

 and heading toward rebel positions in Ajdabiyah. The missile fell 80 km off target in the middle of the desert, inflicting no damage. Eight days later, on August 22nd, three more SCUD-B launches were detected by NATO.