Key Events Leading to Patriot's Failure to Intercept Scud Missile
Shortly after Operation Desert Shield began, Patriot battalions were deployed to Saudi Arabia and then to Israel. These battalions were generally placed in permanent positions to defend key assets, military personnel, and citizens against Iraqi Scud missiles.
Because this was the first time the Patriot had been used to defend against Scud missiles, which fly at approximately MACH 5 (3750 mph), the Army had much to learn about tracking and intercepting them. To obtain Scud data, the Army relied on operational experience conveyed by Patriot users as well as other intelligence sources. With the launch of each Scud, the Army became more and more knowledgeable about the Scud's flight characteristics. Recorded data is another more useful tool that could have provided detailed data on the Patriot's actual performance. However, obtaining recorded performance data from Patriot units was hindered for two reasons.
First, the Patriot was not equipped with an embedded (internal) data recorder to retain system performance information. Second, although portable, external data recorders were available, U.S. commanders decided not to use them because they believed the recorders could cause an unanticipated system shutdown. However, Israeli commanders used data recorders on the Patriot systems they controlled and provided this data to the U.S. Army. As information from all sources became available, software changes were made from August 1990 to February 1991 by the Patriot Project Office in Huntsville, Alabama, to adapt the system to the Desert Storm environment. During the conflict, the Patriot's software was modified six times. Patriots had to be shut down for at least 1 to 2 hours to install each software modification.