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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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SS-21 Scarab
OTR-21 Tochka (Russian: оперативно-тактический ракетный комплекс (ОТР) «Точка», romanized: operativno-takticheskiy raketnyy kompleks (OTR) "Tochka", lit. 'Tactical Operational Missile Complex "Point"') is a Soviet tactical ballistic missile. Its GRAU designation is 9K79. Its NATO reporting name is the SS-21 Scarab. One missile is transported per 9P129 vehicle and raised prior to launch. It uses an inertial guidance system.

The OTR-21 forward deployment to East Germany began in 1981, replacing the earlier Luna-M series of unguided artillery rockets. The system was scheduled to be decommissioned by the Russian Armed Forces in 2020 in favour of the 9K720 Iskander, but they have been observed in use against Ukrainian targets during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Description

The OTR-21 is a mobile missile launch system, designed to be deployed along with other land combat units on the battlefield. While the 9K52 Luna-M is large and relatively inaccurate, the OTR-21 is much smaller. The missile itself can be used for precise strikes on enemy tactical targets, such as control posts, bridges, storage facilities, troop concentrations and airfields. The fragmentation warhead can be replaced with a nuclear, biological or chemical warhead. The solid propellant makes the missile easy to maintain and deploy.

OTR-21 units are usually managed in a brigade structure. There are 18 launchers in a brigade. Each launcher is provided with two or three missiles.

The vehicle is amphibious, with a maximum road speed of 60 km/h (37 mph) and 8 km/h (5.0 mph) in water. The vehicle is NBC-protected. The system began development in 1968. Three variants were developed.

Tochka

The initial version, Tochka, NATO reporting name Scarab A, entered service with the Soviet Army in 1975. It carried one of four types of warhead:

  • 9M123F unitary High explosive warhead. Weight 420 kilograms (930 lb).
  • 9M123K submunitions warhead. Anti-personnel, anti-armour and anti-runway submunitions available.
  • 9M79B nuclear. Selectable yield of 10 or 100 kT.
  • 9N123R EMP warhead.

The minimum range was about 15 km (9.3 mi), maximum range was 70 km (43 mi). Its circular error probable (CEP) is estimated to be about 150 m (490 ft).

A 9M79K missile for the 9K79 Tochka missile system

Tochka-U

The improved Tochka-U, NATO reporting name Scarab B, passed state tests from 1986 to 1988, and was introduced in 1989.

A new motor propellant increased the range to 120 km (75 mi). The CEP significantly improved, to 95 m (312 ft). Six warhead options have been reported, a unitary high explosive warhead, an anti-personnel submunition dispenser, an anti-radar warhead, an EMP warhead and two nuclear warheads.

Scarab C

An unconfirmed third variant, designated Scarab C by NATO, may have been developed in the 1990s, but was likely never operational. Range increased to 185 km (115 mi), and the CEP decreased to less than 70 m (229 ft). Scarab C weighed 1,800 kg (4,000 lb).

Configuration

  • 9M79 missiles with various types of warheads (-9M79-1 for Tochka U Complex).
  • Launcher 9P129 or 9P129-1M (SPU);
  • Transport and loading machine 9T218 or 9T128-1 (TZM);
  • Transport vehicle 9T222 or 9T238 (TM);
  • Automatic testing machine 9V819 or 9V819-1 (AKIM);
  • Technical service vehicle 9V844 or 9V844M (MTO).
  • Set of weapon equipment 9F370-1 (KAO);

Educational means:

  • Simulator 9F625M;
  • Missile overall weight model (such as 9M79K-GVM).
  • 9M79-UT training missile and 9N123F (K) -UT, 9N39-UT warhead. 9H123F-R UT;
  • 9M79-RM missile and 9N123K-RM missile split training model.

Operational history

Syrian civil war (2011–present)

  • In early December 2014, the Syrian Army fired at least one Tochka against Syrian rebels during the Siege of Wadi al-Deif (near Maarat al-Numan, in Idlib province).
  • On 26 April 2016, the Syrian Army fired a Tochka at Syrian rebels in the Syrian Civil Defense Center in west Aleppo.
  • On 14 June 2016, the Syrian Army fired a Tochka at Syrian rebel groups Al-Rahman Legion and Jaysh Al-Fustat in Eastern Ghouta, killing several fighters.
  • On 20 March 2018, the Syrian Army fired a Tochka towards the Turkish Hatay province, which fell in the border district of Yayladağı without causing any casualties or damage.
  • On 23 July 2018, the Syrian Army fired two Tochka missiles near the Israeli border. Initially thought to be inbound to Israel near the Sea of Galilee, two David's Sling interceptors were fired by Israel. A few moments later it became clear they were going to strike within Syria, as such one interceptor was detonated over Israel while the other one fell inside Syria. One Tochka missile landed 1 kilometer inside Syria.
  • On 5 March 2021, the Syrian Army reportedly fired a KN-02 Toksa, a North Korean copy, solid fuelled short ranged missile against a major oil facility in the country’s Idlib governorate, which is currently under the control of Turkish-backed insurgents. The strike near oil facilities ignited major blazes and killed one and wounded 11 people.

Yemeni civil war (2014–present)

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war

  • Azerbaijan claimed Armenia fired Tochka-U rockets at its territory during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Armenia denied this, stating that Azerbaijan is making "disinformation to justify the use of a similar system or a system of a higher caliber."

Russo-Ukrainian War

  • On 24 February 2022, Ukrainian forces launched a missile attack on Russian Millerovo Airbase in Rostov Oblast, using two Tochka-U ballistic missiles in response for the Russian invasion of Ukraine and to prevent further air strikes by the Russian air force against Ukraine. The attack left one Su-30SM destroyed on the ground.
  • On 24 February 2022, a 9M79 Tochka missile fired by Russian forces struck near a hospital building in Vuhledar, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, killing 4 civilians and wounding 10. An Amnesty International investigation confirmed that the hospital was not a military target.
  • On 14 March 2022, the Russian Federation and the government of the separatist Donetsk People Republic blamed Ukrainian forces of launching a Tochka-U missile which killed 23 civilians and wounded 28 in Donetsk. The housing facility was supposedly used as a barracks for separatists forces.
  • On 19 March 2022, Russian forces claimed that they shot down a Ukrainian-fired missile near the Port of Berdiansk.
  • On 24 March 2022, the Russian Navy landing ship Saratov, docked in Berdyansk port in Ukraine, caught fire and sunk. On 3 July, a Russian official confirmed the sinking of the Saratov, a Soviet era Tapir-class landing ship. The ship was hit by a Tochka-U missile. Russia claims that the ship was scuttled by its crew to prevent its munitions from exploding and that the ship has been salvaged since.
  • On 8 April 2022, the railway station in Kramatorsk under Ukrainian control was hit by two Russian Tochka-U ballistic missiles. The attack killed at least 52 civilians and injured at least 87 more. Later, Russia falsely blamed Ukraine for the strike. The message in Russian "Za detei", meaning on behalf of the children, had been daubed on the missile in white.
  • On 16 June 2022, a Russian ammunition warehouse in the occupied Ukrainian city of Khrustalnyi was report to have been hit by a Ukrainian Tochka-U missile.
  • On 13 January 2023, Ukraine claims to have killed over 100 Russian soldiers in the Soledar area using various special forces, artillery and a Tochka-U missile.
  • On 12 May 2024, according to Russian government and state media reports, a Ukrainian missile attack reportedly containing Tochka-U's allegedly damaged a 10-story residential building in Belgorod, with a reported death toll of 15 people.

Operators

A map of OTR-21 operators in blue, with former operators in red. (Note: Russian Tochka-U ballistic missiles were returned to service amid Ukraine war in March 2022).
An Armenian OTR-21 during the Independence Day parade in Yerevan, 2016
Ukrainian OTR-21 Tochka missiles during the Independence Day parade in Kyiv, 2008

Current operators

 Armenia
3+ launchers as of 2024
 Azerbaijan
4 Tochka-U launchers as of 2024
 Bulgaria
Unknown number of launchers as of 2024
 Kazakhstan
12 launchers as of 2024
 North Korea
Unknown numbers of KN-02 Toksa variant as of 2024
 Russia
In 2022, it was estimated that Russia had 200 missiles in service, despite being largely replaced by the Iskander. 50 launchers as of 2024
 Ukraine
In 2022, it was estimated that Ukraine had 90 launchers and 500 missiles. Unknown number of launchers as of 2024, possibly no longer operational
 Syria
Unknown number of launchers as of 2024

Former operators

 Belarus
36 Tochka-U launchers in 2022, split in three brigades with 12 launchers each according to the International Institute of Strategic Studies, while the Belarusian order of battle only lists the 465th Missile Brigade. None in service in 2024
 Czechoslovakia
8 launchers in 1989. Passed on to successor states.
 Czech Republic
Inherited from Czechoslovakia, remained in service as late as 2004
 East Germany
8 launchers in 1989, scrapped after the German reunification
 North Yemen
Ordered 12 launchers and around 100 missiles. Declared operational in 1988. They were used during the 1994 civil war, and were passed on to unified Yemen after.
 Poland
4 launchers and 40 missiles delivered in 1987, remained in service as late as 2008
 Slovakia
Inherited a small number from Czechoslovakia, remained in service as late as 2001
 Soviet Union
300 launchers in 1991, passed on to successor states
 Yemen
Inherited from North Yemen. Used during the 1994 civil war and the ongoing civil war. None in service in 2024

See also

References

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Bibliography

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