Talk:UMLACA

See also: Category:UMLACA

Relevant discussions

• Talk:Alleged Chemical Attack, August 21, 2013/Rocket attack#Unidentified Munitions Linked to Alleged Chemical Attacks
• File talk:Zamalka UMLACA 197 charred right.png
• Category Talk:UMLACA

Sources

• UMLACA Simulation – sasa wawa, Sep 21, 2013

Identifying the launch vehicle?

Frame 31 of video 2

enhanced

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