The Al Samoud 2 is a scaled-down Scud similar to the Ababil-100, a missile Iraq was developing to meet UN Security Council resolutions. However, the Al Samoud 2 is powered by liquids not solids, and the propulsion system is based on a reverse-engineered version of the SA-2 (surface-to-air) missile engine.What's at stake is the size and the range of the missile.
Under the Security Council resolutions, Iraq is allowed to have missiles with a range of less than 150 km. Blix said in December 2002 that the Al Samoud's diameter of 760 mm exceeds the 500-mm restriction. He also said Iraq confirmed that it had imported 380 SA-2 engines to integrate with the Al Samouds. These elements increase the range of the Al Samoud by about 30 km.
Its payload is thought to be around 300 km and weapons inspectors believe that the Al Samoud may be able to carry chemical and biological warheads.
Al Samoud closely resembles the geometry of a Scud-B missile, but with a somewhat greater length-to-diameter ratio. Consistent with the SA-2 missile design, the diameter is 0.5m. The length is app. 7.7m, thus the lift-to-drag (l/d) ratio is roughly 15.4.
7.7m = 25.2 ft.