Scud–Patriot Intercept over Riyadh

Accession number:
2021.01

Maker:
N/A

Historical period:
1990-1991

Wars and Conflicts:
Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm

Type:
Photograph

Dimensions:
N/A

Acquisition date:
2021

Credit line:
Gift of David Rehfuss, US Foreign Service Officer (Ret.)

Provenance:

Gift of David Rehfuss, US Foreign Service Officer (Ret.)

Label:

Taken during Operation Desert Storm, this photograph records a night interception over Riyadh: an Iraqi Scud ballistic missile destroyed by a U.S. Patriot surface-to-air missile. During the short winter war, Iraqi forces launched repeated Scud attacks on the Saudi capital. As Patriot batteries came online, highly publicized intercepts drew residents to rooftop vantage points—many set out chairs and cameras to witness the fiery arcs and mid-air detonations.

David Rehfuss—who donated this photograph and was then a senior U.S. Embassy official in Riyadh—visited a U.S. control trailer for nearby Patriot batteries, where crews described their nightly engagements. The intercepts also produced steady debris: small, brightly colored fragments of missile electronics that littered streets and courtyards. Residents and service members collected the pieces; some were fashioned into necklaces and bracelets—impromptu souvenirs of a war fought largely in the air above the city.

This photograph was featured in the Club’s 2019 exhibition Pivot Point: A First Look at the National Desert Storm War Memorial.