What Does Iraq Need Gyroscopes For?
The question of what Iraq needed Russian gyroscopes for has puzzled experts for a long time. The Iraqis could not use SLBM gyroscopes for their SCUDs or short-range missiles. To use the gyroscopes in a long range missile, they would need a gyroscopic platform (which contains three gyroscopes oriented in three different directions), documentation, and maintenance service. In the words of Ekeus himself, the Russian gyroscopes were to have been used “for methodological and learning purposes,” i.e., to determine how gyroscopes for long-range missiles are built by taking these examples apart, and possibly to use them for future developments of their own, considering that Iraq has their own missile technology experts. However, according to competent sources, the gyroscopes arrived in Iraq in “severely damaged” condition and “in no way could have been used for military purposes.” The report notes that the Iraqis themselves state that they would not refuse to buy gyroscopes for short-range (up
