OTR-23 Oka
| OTR-23 Oka | |
|---|---|
A 9P71 TEL at the National Museum of Military History in Sofia, Bulgaria. | |
| Type | Short-range ballistic missile |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1980−1989 (USSR) |
| Used by | See operators |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Sergey Nepobedimy |
| Designed | 1972 |
| Manufacturer | Votkinsk Machine Building Plant |
| No. built | 450 |
| Variants | See variants |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 4,630 kg (10,210 lb) |
| Length | 7.32 m (24.0 ft) |
| Diameter | 0.97 m (3 ft 2 in) |
| Warhead | High explosive fragmentation, cluster, chemical, nuclear |
| Warhead weight | 716–772 kg (1,579–1,702 lb) |
| Propellant | Single-stage solid-fuel rocket |
Operational range | 500 km (310 mi) |
Guidance system | Inertial with active radar homing |
| Accuracy | 30 m (98 ft) CEP |
Launch platform | 9P71 TEL |
| References | |
The OTR-23 Oka (Russian: OTP-23 «Ока»; named after Oka River) was a mobile theatre ballistic missile (Russian: оперативно-тактический ракетный комплекс) deployed by the Soviet Union near the end of the Cold War to replace the obsolete SS-1C 'Scud B'. It carried the GRAU index 9K714 and was assigned the NATO reporting name SS-23 Spider. The introduction of the Oka significantly strengthened Soviet theatre nuclear capabilities as its range and accuracy allowed it not only to strike hardened NATO targets such as airfields, nuclear delivery systems, and command centers, but moving targets as well. It also had a fast reaction time, being able to fire in approximately five minutes, and was nearly impossible to intercept, thereby allowing it to penetrate defenses.