Talk:UMLACA


 * ''See also: Category:UMLACA

Relevant discussions

 * Talk:Alleged Chemical Attack, August 21, 2013/Rocket attack
 * File talk:Zamalka UMLACA 197 charred right.png
 * Category Talk:UMLACA

Identifying the launch vehicle?


Brown Moses has identified two videos of the UMLACA launch vehicle in the Mezzeh airbase.
 * Exported missile bases Cars - Mezze military airport – Moaweiah battalion, Dec 16, 2012
 * Vehicles carrying missile bases - Mezze military airport – Moaweiah battalion, Dec 16, 2012

The launch vehicle in these videos is a Mitsubishi Fuso Fe series light truck, possibly Fuso Fe 71.

The Liwa al-Islam launch vehicle is best seen in frame 31 of video 2. The truck is Hyundai HD series, possibly a Hyundai HD65. For a rear view of the cab see this, this, and this.

Compare these to the Mitsubishi cab here.

There is a green rectangle on the door. It could be decorative trim but the HD series seems to have a lightning figure there. The rectangular shape we see may just be an artifect of the image compression. -- Petri Krohn (talk) 06:48, 5 October 2013 (UTC)



GRAD rocket engine

 * New Study Refines View of Sarin Attack in Syria – C. J. CHIVERS, New York Times, December 28, 2013
 * ''“The dimensions of the inserted rocket motor very closely match the dimensions in the 9M22-U artillery rocket,” Dr. Postol wrote in an email on Thursday. “If the inserted motor is the same as the standard 9M22-U motor, then the maximum range of the munition would be no more than three kilometers, and likely less.”
 * ''That would be less than the ranges of more than nine kilometers calculated separately by The New York Times and Human Rights Watch in mid-September, after the United States had dropped its push for a military strike. Those estimates had been based in part on connecting reported compass headings for two rockets cited in the United Nations’ initial report on the attacks.
 * ''The published range for a 9M22-U rocket is about 20 kilometers, or 12.4 miles. But the Syrian rockets carried a bulky and apparently flat-nosed warhead — Dr. Postol called it “a soup can” — whose range would have been undermined by its large mass and by drag, the authors said.
 * ''Depending on the motors propelling different Grad models, the projected maximum ranges can vary from 2.5 to 3.5 kilometers, or 1.5 to 2.2 miles, Dr. Postol and Mr. Lloyd said.


 * Assessment of Construction and Performance of the Chem Munition Used in Damascus on August 21, 2013 – Theodore A. Postol, Richard M. Lloyd, December 26, 2013


 * There is an obvious flaw in their analysis. the 9M22-U motor matches the external dimensions of the Volcano-122 but not the internal dimenssions.


 * The motor extends a further 60cm into the payload cannister, so it can't be a 9M22-U motor. It may be a motor from the extended '9 foot' Grad. Overall the motor and nozzle length approach 2 metres. This change sthe total impulse.


 * They also state the OD of the fin support tibe is 122mm when circumference measurements indicate it's closer to 130mm. This is consistent with a 120mm inner motor and a mechanical fin support shell outer. See Hesbol Animation (NB He states 9M22-U which is incorrect --Charles Wood (talk) 02:13, 30 December 2013 (UTC)

Islam 5 missile
The Army of Islam in eastern Ghouta have a ballistic missile they call Islam 5. It was first shown on this video on February 3, 2016.

This video of a nighttime launch from March 6, 2017 is very similar to the UMLACA launch videos. Could this be the same group? -- Petri Krohn (talk) 19:56, 8 March 2017 (UTC)

Jaish al-Islam, mentioned in the first video, are a new name for Liwa al-Islam of the 2013 videos. Use of draped flags seems comparable in the two videos. This was an attribution issue in the LaI videos. SteveMcIntyre 21 April 2017 16:25 EDT