SS-14 Scapegoat



The RT-15 was a mobile theatre ballistic missile deployed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was assigned the NATO reporting name SS-14 Scamp (alternately the SS-14 Scapegoat) and carried the industry designation 8K96.

The RT-15 was an early Soviet attempt to develop a road-mobile theatre ballistic missile. It was intended to be capable of being launched from both sea and ground sites and had a maximum range of 2000–2500 km. The weapon's 'reaction time' in the normal readiness condition after its arrival at the launch site would have been 20 to 30 minutes and the 'holding time' at peak readiness (with a time of two to ten minutes before the missile could be launched) would be about a day.

The missile was developed in the early 1960s and was first seen on a mobile land launcher during May 1965. Despite having completed its development, the system was refused for service soon after it had begun deployment; it was withdrawn and the project cancelled before it could become a major component of the Soviet forces. The missiles were decommissioned and replaced during March 1970.