View source for OTR-23 Oka

{{Short description|Russian theatre ballistic missile}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2024}}
{{Redirect|SS-23|the SLBM|SS-N-23 (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox weapon
|is_missile=yes
|name=OTR-23 Oka <br> SS-23 Spider
| image= Bulgarian 9K714 Oka, NMMH.jpg
| image_size = 300
|caption=A 9P71 TEL at the National Museum of Military History in Sofia, Bulgaria.
|origin= Soviet Union
|type=[[Theatre ballistic missile]]<br>[[Short-range ballistic missile]]
|used_by= See ''[[#Operators|Operators]]''
|manufacturer=[[Votkinsk Machine Building Plant]]
|designer=[[KB Mashinostroyeniya]] ([[Kolomna]])
|design_date=From 1973
|unit_cost=
|propellant=
|production_date=1979 – 1987
|service=
|engine=Single-stage [[Solid-fuel rocket]]
|engine_power=
|weight={{convert|4360|kg|abbr=on}}
|length={{convert|7.53|m|abbr=on}}
|height=
|diameter={{convert|0.89|m|abbr=on}}
|wingspan=
|speed=
|vehicle_range={{convert|500|km|abbr=on}}
|ceiling=
|altitude=
|filling=Nuclear 50-100&nbsp;[[TNT equivalent|kt]], HE fragmentation, submunition, or chemical
|guidance=[[Inertial]] with terminal topographic [[DSMAC]] [[Active radar homing|active radar]]
|accuracy=30–150&nbsp;m [[Circular error probable|CEP]]
|detonation=
|launch_platform=Mobile TEL
}}
The '''OTR-23 Oka''' ({{langx|ru|OTP-23 «Ока»}}; named after [[Oka River]]) was a mobile [[theatre ballistic missile]] ({{langx|ru|оперативно-тактический ракетный комплекс}}) deployed by the [[Soviet Union]] near the end of the [[Cold War]] to replace the obsolete [[Scud|SS-1C 'Scud B']]. It carried the [[GRAU]] index '''9K714''' and was assigned the [[NATO reporting name]] '''SS-23 Spider'''.  The introduction of the Oka significantly strengthened Soviet theatre nuclear capabilities as its range and accuracy allowed it not only to strike hardened [[NATO]] targets such as [[Airbase|airfields]], nuclear delivery systems, and command centers, but moving targets as well.  It also had a fast reaction time, being able to fire in approximately five minutes, and was nearly impossible to intercept, thereby allowing it to penetrate defenses.<ref>http://www.missilethreat.com/missilesoftheworld/id.142/missile_detail.asp {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929100250/http://www.missilethreat.com/missilesoftheworld/id.142/missile_detail.asp |date=2007-09-29 }} MissileThreat: SS-23</ref>
The main components of the 9K714 system were:
* the transport and launch vehicle PU 9P71 ({{langx|ru|cамоходная пусковая установка}}), based on the amphibious BAZ-6944
* the similar transporter-loader TZM 9T230 ({{langx|ru|транспортно-заряжающая машина}}) with one spare missile and equipped with a hydraulic crane
* the re-supply vehicle TM 9T240 ({{langx|ru|транспортная машина}}), a ZIL-131 tractor with semi-trailer to transport a missile (in transport container 9Ya249) and a warhead (in a 9Ya251 container)
The operational life of the Oka was limited and controversial. The Soviet military asserted that the Oka had a maximum range of 250 miles (400&nbsp;km). American experts, however, estimated it had a greater range. In 1987, [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] proposed to [[George Shultz]] that he would unilaterally remove all Okas, if it would prevent the United States from building up its own short-range nuclear forces in Europe, despite the fact that the Soviet military was in favor of the Oka. Shultz however lacked the authority to act on the suggestion.<ref>David Hoffman, ''The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous Legacy'' (Random House, 2009), 283-284.</ref> Gorbachev included the Oka in the class of systems to be discontinued as part of the [[INF Treaty]] as a gesture of goodwill, even though Soviet assertions of its maximum range did not put it outside the specifications of the treaty.{{citation needed|date=January 2012}}
There was diplomatic controversy over this weapons system in April 1990, when the Soviets informed the US of their covert transfer of at least 120 missiles to the [[Warsaw Pact]] states of Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and [[East Germany]] during the time of negotiation of the [[Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty]].  Evidence indicates that the missiles were transferred with conventional warheads only, although equipment to load Soviet nuclear warheads was apparently retained.<ref>https://fas.org/nuke/guide/russia/theater/ss-23.htm SS-23 SPIDER - Russian / Soviet Nuclear Forces</ref>
== Missile variants ==
[[File:9M714 missile of the Soviet 9K714 Oka komplex.jpg|thumb|The 9M714 missile, erected on its TEL]]
* The 9M714B missile armed with the AA-60 (9N63) nuclear warhead and possessing a maximum range of 500&nbsp;km
* The 9M714F missile armed with a FRAG-HE warhead weighing 450&nbsp;kg and possessing a maximum range of 450&nbsp;km
* The 9M714K missile armed with a submunitions warhead 9N74K weighing 715&nbsp;kg and possessing a maximum range of 300&nbsp;km
In addition to these warheads, the OTR-23 Oka was also reported to be able to deliver chemical munitions.
== Operators ==
[[File:OTR-23 operators.png|thumb|400px|Map with former OTR-23 operators in red]]
===Former operators===
; {{BUL}}: Phased out in 2002
; {{CZE}}: Phased out in the 1990s
; {{CZS}}: Passed on to successor states
; {{DDR}}: Phased out in the 1990s, shortly before the reunification with West-Germany
; {{SVK}}: Phased out in 2000
; {{USSR}}: Phased out as directed by the [[INF Treaty]]
== See also ==
* [[List of missiles]]
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{commons category|OTR-23 Oka}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070219035234/http://www.new-factoria.ru/missile/wobb/oka/oka.shtml 9К714 "Ока" (Russian]
* [http://www.valka.cz/newdesign/v900/clanek.php?id=1128&highlight=SS-23%20Spider Komplex 9K714 Oka (Czech)]
* [http://www.peterhall.de/srbm/missiles/ussr/9m714/oka02.html 9K714 "Oka" (German)]
*[http://www.enemyforces.net/missiles/otr_23.htm OTR - 23 "Oka" - Enemy Forces]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20161228052532/http://astronautix.com/o/oka.html Oka - Encyclopedia Astronautica]
{{PostWWIISovietAFVS}}
{{Russian and Soviet military designation sequences}}
{{Russian and Soviet missiles|SSM}}
[[Category:Theatre ballistic missiles]]
[[Category:Cold War missiles of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Votkinsk Machine Building Plant products]]
[[Category:KB Mashinostroyeniya products]]
[[Category:Cluster munitions]]
[[Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1970s]]