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Syria obtained Russian Scud-Bs, but it is unclear whether it received Russian Scud-Cs. As of 1992 it was estimated that Syria had 18 Scud-B launchers, as well as 18 of the second-generation Soviet SS-21s, a highly mobile, but shorter-range, missile capable of striking targets in northern Israel. It is widely believed that in late 1991 Syria bought 150 Scud-Cs [an extended-range versions of the Scud-Bs] from North Korea. Syrian Scuds are claimed to have a variety of warheads available, including cluster chemical, unitary VX chemical and unitary high explosive.
In September 1997 Yediot Aharanot published an article on Syrian missile capability by Harold Hough, an American researcher who specializes in intelligence deciphering of satellite imagery. This analysis suggested that the bases of the two Syrian brigades of new Scud C missiles were located 25 kilometers from the city of Hama, on the road to as-Salamiyah. This site may contain the new Scud-C acquired from North Korea in 1991. Hough concluded that there were 36 launchers on this site, many more than had been anticpated at a single site. Countries with Scuds generally maintain a 10:1 ratio between missiles and launchers. Assuming that the Hama base has about half of Syria's missiles, the ratio is 2:1 in terms of launchers and missiles.
A Syrian Scud-C unit is generally thought to consist of 18 launchers and 50 missiles. Preparations for the first launch take about one-and-a-half hours, but in some cases only three to five minutes will be enough for a second launch. In early 1998 it was reported that Syria had moved two units of Scud-C missiles from the region of Aleppo in the north to the vicinity of the capital, Damascus.
In late September 2000 Syria successfully tested its Korean Scud-D missile with a 360 mile range. The new Scud D, with a range of some 700 kilometers, gives Damascus the option of deploying missiles deeper into Syria to better protect them. In early July 2001 an Israeli radar picked up the launch of the Scud from the Haleb region, in northern Syria, and monitored its path until it landed some 300 kilometers away in the desert of southern Syria. As of late 2000 Syria is believed to have 26 Scud launchers and 300-400 Scud Bs and Cs. The Scud B is capable of carrying a 1,000-kg warhead up to 300 kilometres and the Scud Cs a 770-kg warhead up to 500 kilometres, putting virtually all of Israel under the Syrian missile threat. Although the Scud D has a longer range than the Scud-C, it has a lighter warhead and is less accurate.
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