Archie to SAM: A Short Operational History of Ground-Based Air ...

BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE
Figure 90. Scud. Scud debris, first Gulf War. The coalition’s inability to
throttle the Scud attacks was an embarrassment, but otherwise the
missile was not an effective military weapon. (Reprinted from Defense
Visual Information Center.)
Army’s claims. He wrote that his studies “indicate[d] that Patriot
was a near total failure in terms of its ability to destroy, damage,
or divert Scud warheads.” 78 Postal went on to state that
there was only one clear example of a hit but that it was uncertain
whether this impacted on a Scud warhead or fuel tank.
He approvingly quoted Yitzhak Rabin: “The biggest disappointment
of the war is reserved for the Patriot. It was excellent
public relations, but its intercept rate was rather poor.” 79 Postal
claimed that not only was the Patriot unsuccessful in neutering
the Scud, it may have caused more ground damage than did the
Scuds. The defenders fired three Patriots at each of the incoming
Scuds, and each interceptor missile weighed more than did the
Scud’s warhead. 80
Whatever the facts of the matter, this line of argument
misses the main point. Just as the Scuds were primarily a
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