| al-Hijarah | |
|---|---|
| Type | Short-range ballistic missile |
| Place of origin | Iraq [1] [2] [3] |
| Specifications | |
| Payload capacity | 100-300 kg [2] [3] chemical warhead |
| Propellant | Liquid-propelled [3] |
Operational range | 700-900 km [2] [3] |
Guidance system | Inertial |
The al-Hijarah missile was an Iraqi liquid propelled inertial Short-range ballistic missile, it was also a Scud missile and considered an upgrade of the al-Hussein missile equipped with chemical warheads. [1] It was developed by 1990 [2] and was first used in the Persian Gulf War where the al-Hijarah missile would release poison gas clouds and kill personnel on the ground, as well as ignite oil wells. [1] One al-Hijarah missile was confirmed to have been fired at Israel during the Gulf War where one landed near Dimona, it was revealed that the missile had a concrete filled warhead. [1]
The al-Hijarah missile warhead was probably filled with chemical weapons and biological weapons possessed by Iraq at that time like anthrax, botulinum toxin, aflatoxin, sarin, cyclosarin and VX nerve agent. [4] The al-Hijarah missile being a version of the al Hussein also suffered from flight instability and improper guidance. [3] Iraq itself at that time was almost fully indigenous when it came to ballistic missile components and only lacked the ability to locally manufacture Gyroscopes. [1]
