Oka missile (OTR-23 / SS-23)
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A Soviet mobile theatre ballistic missile system developed by the Kolomna Machine-Building Design Bureau (KBM) under Sergey Nepobedimy and fielded in 1980. Using solid fuel and mounted on an amphibious TEL, it could fire within five minutes. Though its officially claimed range was 400 km, it reached 450–500 km depending on the warhead, with a CEP of roughly 30 m and counter-ABM penetration aids that made it the most advanced short-range ballistic missile of its era. During the 1987 INF Treaty negotiations, Gorbachev unilaterally included the Oka, technically below the treaty's 500 km floor, in the elimination list; the USSR destroyed 239 missiles, and the Soviet military regarded the concession as a betrayal.
Related historical events
Sources
- Wikipedia (RU) Soviet Russian-language article: development history, technical specifications, GRAU 9K714, NATO SS-23 Spider, INF destruction, Gorbachev's role in including it despite 400 km range.
- Wikipedia (EN) English article: operational history, description, warhead variants (9M714B nuclear / 9M714F HE / 9M714K cluster), Oka-U variant terminated by INF, and diplomatic controversy.
- nsarchive2.gwu.edu National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 238: documents that Gorbachev agreed to eliminate the newly deployed OKA/SS-23 missiles (239 destroyed) as part of the INF Treaty, despite Soviet military opposition.
- jamestown.org Jamestown Foundation (Roger McDermott, 2020): confirms the Iskander was developed to replace the scrapped Oka after the INF Treaty, by the same KBM design bureau in Kolomna.