scud -
noun Sometimes written
SCUD (War and
Weaponry ) The NATO code-name (more
fully Scud missile) for any of a class of long-range surface-to-surface guided missiles developed in the Soviet Union, capable of carrying a number of different kinds of
warhead , and launchable from a mobile launcher. Etymology: Although sometimes
written in capitals,
Scud is not
an acronym; the word
scud was chosen as part of a series of NATO code-names for Soviet surface-to-surface missiles, all of which conventionally begin with s: other examples
include Savage, Sandal, Scapegoat, and Scrooge.
Similar series of names (beginning with g, k, and a
respectively ) have been chosen for surface-to-air, air-to-surface, and air-to-air missiles. History and Usage: The
Scud missile system (first the
Scud A, and later the
Scud B) was designed and made in the Soviet Union in the late fifties and early sixties and was soon exported to the Warsaw
Pact and other countries friendly to the Soviet Union.
Scuds were used in the conflict in Afghanistan in the second half of the eighties, and were sometimes mentioned in news reports; what really brought the
Scud into the news in English-speaking countries, though, was its deployment by Iraq during the Gulf War of January-February 1991.
Scuds were launched against allied forces in Saudi Arabia and, more controversially, against Israel (a state not otherwise involved in the conflict). Since the
Scud is capable of carrying conventional,
chemical , or biological warheads,
Scud attacks were seen as a significant threat to the civilian population in Israel and Saudi Arabia; in the event
only conventional warheads were used, but there were significant numbers of civilian casualties,
especially in Israel. The
fact that the missiles were launched from mobile launchers
made it difficult for allied air power to locate and destroy the sources of the attacks; their effectiveness was minimized, however, by the success of
Patriot missiles in intercepting and destroying many of them before they reached their targets. By February 1991 there was already a little evidence to suggest that
Scud would develop a figurative sense, 'a
devastating or unpredictable attack', much as Exocet had done after the Falklands War. Now, bad weather in the region and the failure to
knock out the
Scuds had prolonged the aerial campaign. Newsweek 28 Jan. 1991, p.
17 The Sacks/Williams of the film is what
Pauline Kael of the New Yorker, in one of her critical
Scud missile moods, describes as 'another Robin Williams benevolent eunuch role'. Independent on
Sunday 17 Feb. 1991, p. 21
