Breaking News - Gas attacks by Iraq on Kuwait City

Enlightenment · Post by **Enlightenment** » 2003-03-20 05:13am

From the CBC

KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT - Iraq fired as many as three missiles at Kuwait on Thursday, and U.S. forces tried to shoot one down with Patriot missiles.

U.S. officers said the Patriot anti-ballistic missile batteries intercepted a Scud that was fired toward U.S. forces in the northern Kuwaiti desert.

The Patriot missiles proved to be ineffective against Iraq's Scud missiles in the 1991 Gulf War, despite U.S. military claims of success.

Troops at U.S. Camp New Jersey briefly put on their gas masks after the missile attack, but were given the all-clear a few minutes later.

A short time earlier, Kuwait's defence minister says two Iraqi missiles carrying conventional explosive warheads hit its northern border with Iraq on Thursday.

Kuwait state television said they were three-tonne, medium-range missiles.

There was no indication that the missiles were carrying any unconventional warheads.

Personnel wearing full protective gear probed the area where one of the missiles came down to determine if any biological and chemical agents were present.

No troops in the U.S.-led coalition were in the area.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-03-20 05:13am

The missiles were intercepted by Patriots. Seems the new system works.

Enlightenment · Post by **Enlightenment** » 2003-03-20 05:17am

Faux news has pulled its 'chemical attack' story.

Archaic` · Post by **Archaic`** » 2003-03-20 05:20am

And has just put on a new story about potential new missles (Seems like the first error at least has made them a bit more careful, for now anyway), with the sirens sounding in Kuwait again.

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2003-03-20 05:48am

Vympel wrote: When did Hans Blix say Iraq didn't have any SCUDs? Never.

Pentagon now says they weren't SCUDS but a different type of
Surface-to-surface missile...much harder to intercept

Cpt_Frank · Post by **Cpt_Frank** » 2003-03-20 05:59am

MKSheppard wrote:
Vympel wrote: When did Hans Blix say Iraq didn't have any SCUDs? Never.
Pentagon now says they weren't SCUDS but a different type of
Surface-to-surface missile...much harder to intercept

They said it was an Al-Samoud II.

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2003-03-20 06:02am

Cpt_Frank wrote: They said it was an Al-Samoud II.

Weren't they supposed to get rid of those?

EmperorMing · Post by **EmperorMing** » 2003-03-20 06:08am

MKSheppard wrote:
Cpt_Frank wrote: They said it was an Al-Samoud II.
Weren't they supposed to get rid of those?

I think so...

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2003-03-20 06:09am

EmperorMing wrote: I think so...

Wow, then I guess our troops are being hit by non-existent missiles,
since Saddam doesn't have them (according to france)

EmperorMing · Post by **EmperorMing** » 2003-03-20 06:11am

MKSheppard wrote:
EmperorMing wrote: I think so...
Wow, then I guess our troops are being hit by non-existent missiles,
since Saddam doesn't have them (according to france)

He got them form some model rocket catalauge...In France.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-03-20 06:18am

Yeah, like the non-existent Exocets that hit the Sheffield in the Falklands.

Bloody Frogs.

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-03-20 06:21am

Actually, the Al-Samoud 2s were being destroyed by Iraq up until hours before the inspectors went- the inspectors even oversaw it. They didn't finish destroying them all however. Why bother destroying them when you're being invaded. You need them now.

EmperorMing · Post by **EmperorMing** » 2003-03-20 06:28am

Vympel wrote:Actually, the Al-Samoud 2s were being destroyed by Iraq up until hours before the inspectors went- the inspectors even oversaw it. They didn't finish destroying them all however. Why bother destroying them when you're being invaded. You need them now.

Yeah, they'll get destroyed...When they land in our own positions...

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2003-03-20 06:43am

Fox news Washington correspondent says the Pentagon reports 3 missiles fired. Trajectory indicates 1st missile is a SCUD that was intercepted by the PAtriot

The 2nd missile was a Chinese anti-ship cruise missile (SUNBURN) that was not intercepted but missed targets and did no damage.

The 3rd "missile" was actually a light aircraft that crashed harmlessly in Kuwait.

DATA ON SUNBURN:

The SS-N-22 anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM), code named 'Sunburn' by NATO and known in Russia as the 3M-80E 'Moskit' missile, is considered by many observers to be the most threatening ship-launched ASCM in service today. Developed by Russia’s Raduga missile design bureau, the SS-N-22 is a supersonic (Mach 2.1), low-flying (7 to 20 m, or about 23 to 66 feet, above the surface of the water) ASCM that performs a terminal ‘S’ manoeuvre (pulling up to 15G) to evade close-in defenses at a distance of 5 to 7 km (about 2.7 to 3.8 nautical miles) to its target.

The 3M-80E 'Moskit' missile, an improved variant of the basic 3M-80, has an operational range of 160 km. The weapon’s Altair-designed multi-channel seeker uses active radar, anti-radiation and home-on-jam modes. The missile is armed with a conventional 300 kg penetrating warhead containing 150 kg of high explosive, or (in the Russian Navy) a 200 kiloton nuclear warhead.

Even with a conventional warhead, 'Moskit' missile is large enough so that one hit from a single missile could seriously damage or possibly even sink a U.S. Navy major surface combatant, a hit from one or possibly even a few conventionally-armed 'Moskit' missiles might not be enough to halt flight operations on a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier because of the carrier’s much larger size and its high degree of compartmentalization. A nuclear-armed 'Moskit', however, could easily destroy a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier (and any other nearby ships), even if the warhead detonates at some distance from the carrier.

The SS-N-22's designers have stated openly that the missile was developed to defeat the U.S. Navy’s Aegis air-defense system. The SS-N-22 entered service in 1984 –- a year after the U.S. Navy’s first Aegis-equipped ship, the Ticonderoga (CG-47), entered service. The U.S. Navy concerned over effectiveness of the Aegis system centered to a large degree on the ability of the system to defeat the SS-N-22, particularly since the Navy at that time did not have an air-defense target missile that could fully replicate the supersonic, low-flying flight profile of the SS-N-22. The U.S. Navy’s attempts over the years to develop such a target missile indigenously have met with some failures, and Navy actions in recent years to acquire appropriate target missiles have, ironically, included proposed or actual purchases of SS-N-22s themselves as well as modified air-launched Russian ASCMs known as MA-31s.

Despite various progress the U.S. Navy has made in improving its surface ships' air defence capability against 'Moskit' missile, the missile probably remains a challenging weapon for the Aegis system. A 1993 article about U.S. attempts to purchase some of the missiles for use as targets quoted an unnamed Navy official as saying, “This missile is a source of great concern to the Navy” because of its speed. Ships equipped with an Aegis system (or some other rapid-reaction air-defense system) might not be able to guarantee 100% effectiveness in defending themselves against the missile, and ships not so equipped would be highly vulnerable to the missile unless they operate under the protective cover of an Aegis-equipped ship.

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-03-20 06:50am

Absolutely no way it was a SUNBURN. The SUNBURN is not Chinese, it is Russian- in all liklhood, the dumbass who reported it thought the SUNBURN was Chinese, when he really meant SILKWORM, which is merely a cheap Chinese copy of the very old Soviet STYX.

There are also no shore-launched versions of SUNBURN.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-03-20 06:55am

Vympel wrote:Absolutely no way it was a SUNBURN. The SUNBURN is not Chinese, it is Russian- in all liklhood, the dumbass who reported it thought the SUNBURN was Chinese, when he really meant SILKWORM, which is merely a cheap Chinese copy of the very old Soviet STYX.

There are also no shore-launched versions of SUNBURN.

Wait, they tried to use a ASM on a land based target?

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-03-20 06:58am

Admiral Valdemar wrote:
Wait, they tried to use a ASM on a land based target?

Beats me. If they used any anti-ship missile on a land target, that explains why it missed.

Boba Fett · Post by **Boba Fett** » 2003-03-20 07:00am

MKSheppard wrote:
Boba Fett wrote:That's funny.
Now it's 10:40 here. Two hours ago I've heard that they started to equip the troops with gas masks in Kuwait.

Now a canister full of gas is "landed" in Kuwait.

That's makes me suspicious.

I'd bet on it that the gas was in real harmless and it was only fired to cover the Big Lie.

(I'm not against the war but that was a bit suspicious...)
You're full of shit. Every US soldier in the Gulf walked off a plane with a
gas mask. Gas Masks have been a part of US kit since World War I.

Watch your tongue dude, I'm not insulting you so try to be civilized!!!

The report said so and I don't have to know everything!

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-03-20 07:38am

Just heard the stupid Faux news dumbfucks claim Iraqi SUNBURN missiles fired at ground targets with my own ears- from 'various Pentagon sources'. Who, the janitor?

Fucking ignoramuses.

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2003-03-20 08:34am

Vympel wrote:Just heard the stupid Faux news dumbfucks claim Iraqi SUNBURN missiles fired at ground targets with my own ears- from 'various Pentagon sources'. Who, the janitor?

Fucking ignoramuses.

if anyone started firing nuclear cruise missles, it would be as obvious as the sunrise. fucking morons

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-03-20 08:38am

Col. Crackpot wrote:
if anyone started firing nuclear cruise missles, it would be as obvious as the sunrise. fucking morons

While a nuke warhead is an option, all SUNBURNs are first and foremost, conventional, precision strike anti-ship missiles. Regardless- Iraq does not have them.

Cpt_Frank · Post by **Cpt_Frank** » 2003-03-20 10:32am

I wonder how long it takes until the Iraqi Akula subs start attacking the US carriers with patriot missiles.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2003-03-20 10:37am

MKSheppard wrote:
Cpt_Frank wrote: They said it was an Al-Samoud II.
Weren't they supposed to get rid of those?

Yes they were. They supposedly did but they offered no proof and the UN didn't push them on it. Guess that goes to show you what a trustworthy guy Hussien is.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-03-20 10:38am

Cpt_Frank wrote:I wonder how long it takes until the Iraqi Akula subs start attacking the US carriers with patriot missiles.

No, it will be there Italian built Bravos armed with Sidewinders

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-03-20 10:40am

Moron reporters. Gas attack is sounded just about any time a Biochemical delivery system is in flight. Israel did it for every last Scud in 1991, though it was never hit by anything but conventional or concrete warheads.