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Iraq mobile launchers { March 23 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/23/international/23STRA.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/23/international/23STRA.html
March 23, 2003
Iraq May Use Mobile Launchers to Take Aim at Troops Moving North
By MICHAEL R. GORDON
CAMP DOHA, Kuwait, March 22 — Iraqi forces have been repositioning their surface-to-surface missiles and are expected to try further missile attacks against advancing American troops, senior American officials said today.
The officials also disclosed that the missiles fired at Kuwait over the past few days have not been random shots but have been targeted, based on Iraqi intelligence about where American units were positioned.
Allied warplanes are now involved in an intensive effort to strike the Iraqis' mobile missile launchers before they fire again.
United States military officials say they bombed several Iraqi missile launchers last night. But the Iraqi missile batteries now appear to be heading north on the highway out of Basra so they can fire at the right flank of the American troops as they advance toward Baghdad.
"They are not out of the game," said Brig. Gen. Howard Bromberg, the commander of the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command, which is commanding the Patriots batteries in the Persian Gulf region. "They are repositioning."
Iraq has fired six Ababil-100 missiles, at the 101st Airborne division, at an allied air base in Kuwait, at the command center for the land war, at a huge Marine logistics area and at other important targets.
In a striking contrast to the Persian Gulf war in 1991, four of the six missiles have been shot down by batteries of Patriot antimissile interceptors while the remaining two fell harmlessly in the Persian Gulf and in the desert.
During the 1991 gulf war, Iraq launched Scud missiles at Persian Gulf states and Israel, attacks that the United States military struggled to suppress with limited success. After the war, the Central Intelligence Agency said it could not confirm a single case in which a Scud launcher was destroyed by allied bombing.
Patriot antimissile systems had never been used before the 1991 war, and had a hard time stopping the attacks then. That was especially true since the Scud missiles often broke up in flight, presenting more complex targets for interceptors. A Scud missile that landed in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, killed 28 American troops and wounded 98 others.
This time, both sides have been fighting the missile war differently. So far, the Iraqis have not fired any of the few Scuds they are thought to have retained. Instead, they have been launching the Ababil-100, a solid-fueled missile that is easy to move and that the Iraqis have been firing primarily from areas surrounding Basra. So far, none of the missiles have carried chemical or germ warheads.
The Americans are doing things very differently this time as well. To defend their force, they have deployed more advanced Patriot systems, including the PAC-3 Patriot, the newest system that is only now being deployed, and other upgraded variants of the interceptor.
The PAC-3 missile destroys the incoming missile by colliding with it, using an advanced seeker that is mounted on the Patriot interceptor. Only a limited number of PAC-3's have been produced and they are now rolling off the assembly line.
The less advanced PAC-2 missiles that have been used are called GEM's for "guidance enhanced missiles." That means, they have an exploding warhead that tries to home in on the front end of the incoming missile to destroy the attacking missile warhead. In 1991, the Patriots that were used exploded along the side of the missile, deflecting but not destroying the warhead.
The military has also developed an elaborate surveillance network that involves tracking incoming missiles with radar on the Aegis guided missile destroyer Higgins in the Persian Gulf, backed up by a sea-based tracking radar called Cobra Judy.
It also has deployed an Army command to coordinate the deployment of Patriot battalions in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan. (Patriots systems have also been deployed to Israel by the United States European Command.)
The first Iraqi missile was launched Thursday at "Thunder Road," the assembly area for the 101st Airborne. Two Patriot PAC-2 GEM interceptors were fired and the Iraqi missile was intercepted.
One hour later the Iraqis fired a missile at Camp Doha, the headquarters for the land war command, which is orchestrating the Army, Marine and British advance. Sirens sounded and the command staff rushed to put on their chemical protective suits and masks. A giant whoosh was heard as two PAC-3 missiles were fired at the Ababil-100. The first Patriot struck the incoming missile just five miles from the camp. The second Patriot then blew itself up automatically.
This was the first time the PAC-3 system has been used in combat.
Thursday evening, the Iraqis fired a missile at Camp Udari, a rear staging area for American forces and attack helicopter units. A Patriot PAC-2 GEM missile intercepted it.
On Friday, the Iraqis fired a missile toward the Ali Al Salem air base, which is near the town of Al Jara. Two Kuwaiti batteries fired a total of three Patriot GEMS missiles at the Iraqi missile and it was destroyed. The Kuwaitis operate some of the Patriot batteries to protect their population centers.
Two other firings followed. One Iraqi missile landed in an empty stretch of desert, apparently targeted at Tactical Assembly Area Fox, a huge Marine logistics base. Another landed in the Persian Gulf, directly east of Kuwait City. It may have been aimed at Kuwait's port.
"I think they were going for Kuwait City or Doha and just overshot," General Bromberg said.
These were not the only missile attacks. On Thursday morning, the Iraqis fired a Seersucker cruise missile — usually used against ships — at the headquarters of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Commando. The missile landed near enough to the camp that shock waves knocked down some of the troops.
The range of Iraqi missiles is limited to 90 miles under stipulations set by the United Nations. But some of the Ababil-100s that were fired have exceeded that range, confirming an analysis by the C.I.A. that the Ababil-100, like the liquid-fueled Samoud missiles that Iraq agreed to destroy in recent weeks, was developed in violation Iraq's United Nations obligations. One of the Ababil-100's that was intercepted flew about 110 miles. Before the war started this week, weapons inspectors were still debating its range.
Stopping the Iraqis from firing their missiles is not easy. The Ababil-100 has a short "burn time," or boost phase, in which the missile blasts from its launcher and is easily visible to surveillance. Also, cloudy weather and dust has interfered with satellite surveillance, which has been of marginal value.
The flight time of the missiles is only several minutes, so it is important that Patriot units be alerted when a missile is launched.
The Higgins, which is equipped with the advanced Aegis systems, provides initial warning of a missile launch. But the Cobra Judy radar is so powerful that the United States military has had to keep shifting it farther away so that electromagnetic interference from the system does not disrupt other American radar and electronic systems.
Once the Army missile defense command is alerted of a launch, it sends out a message on beepers that have been given to top Kuwaiti officials and the American ambassador. Air raid sirens have sounded in Kuwait during missile attacks.
In addition to Ababil-100 missiles, Iraq has deployed Al Samoud missiles within range of United States forces and outfitted its Republican Guard units with a "Frog" battlefield rocket system, a Soviet-style weapon which Iraq has modified to extend its range. United States commanders are concerned that Iraq might mount chemical or germ weapons on its short-range missiles to make a final stand as American forces rumble toward Baghdad.
The Iraqis also appear to be shifting their Ababil missile launchers from the Basra area toward Qurnah, according to American officials. There are no allied ground forces near that area. So the United States is relying on air power to suppress the missile firings. This is in contrast to western Iraq, where United States Special Forces have been reported to be operating to stop the Iraqis from firing Scud missiles at Israel.
American officials say the terrain near Qurnah, which includes palm groves, marshy areas and buildings, will make it easier for the Iraqis to hide the Ababil-100 launchers. The solid-fueled missiles are much easier to move than the liquid-fueled Scuds or Samouds and thus easier to hide.
Allied air power has sought to stop the firing by bombing production sites near Baghdad and trying to find and strike the launchers. Patriot batteries are also moving north with the forces advancing in Iraq. One has been set up to defend the Rumaila oil fields, a high priority since the United States is hoping that oil exports can be used to pay for the rebuilding of Iraq after Mr. Hussein is deposed.
In addition, to the batteries north of Basra, American intelligence has concluded that Iraq has undestroyed Samoud liquid-fueled missiles and Hussein Scud missiles, most of which are in and around Baghdad. The Iraqis are trying to hide the missiles launchers near building, making them hard to find and attack.
But the Ababil-100 launchers north of Basra remain an urgent concern. Lt. Gen. David McKiernan, the land war commander, has ordered allied forces to keep up the tempo of their advance to make the land formations less vulnerable to missile attack.
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