Was wondering this as well. Didn’t we knock down SCUDs in the Gulf War?
Yes, that was the introduction of the Patriot systems to the world.
” Didn’t we knock down SCUDs in the Gulf War?”
Yes and no. Scuds tend to break up on the way down. The intercept missiles sometimes struck fuel tanks and other debris. The guidance on the incoming missiles was so bad they rarely would have hit anything of value in any case.
While intercept technology is getting better all the time, you always have a probability that you will miss. So, if you absolutely must hit the target you have to launch enough interceptors to guarantee a takedown. More modern payloads can maneuver on the way to the target making the task nearly impossible. Also, hypersonic maneuvering missiles make shoot-downs more improbable.
Unfortunately, we won’t have four years to gear up for the next war so we have to be ready for it all the time. A very expensive proposition. On top of that we may have another Barak Obama who lost America’s deterrent posture, making war more probable.
The problem was that, while the Patriot system worked, at first, no one had ever left it on 24/7. It wasn't until they started missing, every launch, that it was discovered that there was a tracking error in the software/radar interface clock, and this resulted in up to a 90 degree launch fault.
A SCUD hit a US barracks at Dharhan, killing 27 troops, and others were hitting Israel, that was supposed to be protected by Patriot batteries.
This prompted Israel to develop their own system...
It's presumed that this error has been fixed.