Syria’s Scud missiles sustained minimal damage after Israeli strike

15 December, 2024 Syrian Scud. Photo: Encyclopedia of Syrian military Some of Syria's 9K72 Elbrus (Scud - ed.) self-propelled missile systems sustained minimal damage after the Israeli strike.

The Al-Hadath channel from Saudi Arabia published a video from the strike site in its story on December 12. The story captured the underground storage facility of the missile systems, which was destroyed only at the exit to the surface. In the tunnel itself, you can spot six 9K72 Elbrus (Scud - ed.) transporter erector launchers (TEL), as well as cranes and special vehicles from the system.

Thus, this shelter is designed to shelter one division of the 9K72 Elbrus system. The video captures damage only to the sixth TEL:

9K72 Elbrus TEL in an underground storage facility in Syria. Freeze frame from AlHadath video

The MAZ-543 chassis's cab is deformed, and the right side is completely destroyed.

The two front wheels are likely punctured or damaged. On its Instagram page, the Al-Hadath channel published another video filmed at the same location of the former 155th Missile Brigade of the Syrian Arab Army (Syrian Armed Forces under the control of Bashar al-Assad):

In particular, two more shelters were spotted here. In one shelter, a TEL with a R-17 ballistic missile is visible, and in the other, a TEL without a missile:

9K72 Elbrus launchers in underground storage in Syria.

Freeze from AlHadath video

There is no damage to either machine as a result of the strike, and the underground storage facilities appear to be undamaged. The current condition of the missile systems is unknown, and although they look like they have not been operated, they are not. After the outbreak of the civil war in Syria in 2011, starting in 2012, there were regular reports of Assad's forces using 9K72 Elbrus (Scud) against opposition fighters.

Syrian Scud.

Photo: Encyclopedia of Syrian military

But it was not only the rebels who were intimidated by Assad with these weapons; back in 2017, threats against Israel appeared. They were that if the IDF did not stop striking targets in Syria, including those used by Hezbollah and its Iranian allies, the Syrians would strike Israel. At the time, the number of missiles available to Assad was said to be 800.

This number was probably not true, but propaganda, and the exact number of missiles remains unknown.

After all, the calculation is complicated by purchases from the USSR at different times, as well as from the DPRK.