It also had a fast reaction time, being able to fire in approximately five minutes, and was nearly impossible to intercept, thereby allowing it to penetrate defenses.

[6] During the mid-1960s the Soviets began developing a replacement for the R-17 Elbrus (NATO reporting name: SS-1C Scud B), which had some serious drawbacks including slow launching time, dangerous fuel,[b] and poor accuracy.

The 9M714, designed as an extended range version of the Tochka, used solid fuel which could be quickly loaded and fired with a smaller crew and less support vehicles.

It could carry a conventional high explosive fragmentation (9M74F), cluster munitions (9M74K), chemical, or nuclear (9M63) warheads.

[citation needed] There was diplomatic controversy over this weapons system in April 1990, when the Soviets informed the US of their covert transfer of at least 120 missiles to the Warsaw Pact states of Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and East Germany during the time of negotiation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.