Syria
Homs Missile Factory
This page is part of the Facilities Collection.
The Homs complex is reportedly located adjacent to a chemical weapons production facility, and is responsible for testing new missile modifications and fitting ballistic missiles with chemical warheads. 1 The site includes a missile storage facility, perimeter defenses, and hardened underground bunkers. 2 Yiftah Shapir asserts that Syria may have constructed underground launch silos for Scud missiles at the site. 3
Glossary
- Chemical Weapon (CW)
- The CW: The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons defines a chemical weapon as any of the following: 1) a toxic chemical or its precursors; 2) a munition specifically designed to deliver a toxic chemical; or 3) any equipment specifically designed for use with toxic chemicals or munitions. Toxic chemical agents are gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical substances that use their toxic properties to cause death or severe harm to humans, animals, and/or plants. Chemical weapons include blister, nerve, choking, and blood agents, as well as non-lethal incapacitating agents and riot-control agents. Historically, chemical weapons have been the most widely used and widely proliferated weapon of mass destruction.
- Ballistic missile
- A delivery vehicle powered by a liquid or solid fueled rocket that primarily travels in a ballistic (free-fall) trajectory. The flight of a ballistic missile includes three phases: 1) boost phase, where the rocket generates thrust to launch the missile into flight; 2) midcourse phase, where the missile coasts in an arc under the influence of gravity; and 3) terminal phase, in which the missile descends towards its target. Ballistic missiles can be characterized by three key parameters - range, payload, and Circular Error Probable (CEP), or targeting precision. Ballistic missiles are primarily intended for use against ground targets.
- Scud
- Scud is the designation for a series of short-range ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union in the 1950s and transferred to many other countries. Most theater ballistic missiles developed and deployed in countries of proliferation concern, for example Iran and North Korea, are based on the Scud design.
Sources
- Anthony H. Cordesman, “Syrian Weapons of Mass Destruction,” 1st Working Draft, 2 June 2008, pp. 11-14, www.csis.org; Khalid Hilal, Leah Kuchinsky and Amin Tarzi, “Israel Sees Growing Missile Threat from Syria,” WMD Insights, July/August 2007.
- Caroline B. Glick, “Fighting the Next War,” The Jerusalem Post, 20 April 2007; Anthony H. Cordesman, “Syrian Weapons of Mass Destruction,” 1st Working Draft, 2 June 2008, pp. 11-14, www.csis.org.
- Yiftah Shapir, “The Syrian Army Buildup,” Strategic Assessment, August 2007, Vol. 10, no. 2, the Institute for National Security Studies, www.inss.org.il.