- • - - - - f0f r• ' 1•111111 HIPIIIIIJ lll - - ARCHIVE 30 November 2001 MID-227-01-SCI -'t ' i • - _ ·• ' - S E §§ The unauthorized dlsdosu11 ol ela11lnlld Information may ti proNCuted undef Section 793 and Slctlon 1111 lltlt 1a use and 11 punishable by Hne of not mol9 lhlln $10 000 Imprisonment of not more than 10 years or bath OS i 8 TDf 8E8ftE'fF' of 644 Copies @ Bllllfl Nll'IRIM Jtl --- 30 Nov mbBr 20D1 tfJJ' Iraq Procuring Possible Nuclear-Related Gas Centrifuge Equipment ir • tl l l 1 -1 c b t t -1 c f IIBlfJl In the pasµi ear q has Increased efforts through a network orrront companies to acquire · pedalized aluminum tubes that It could use to con• struct gas centriruge rotors If Baghdad acquires the tubes it couldt in 5 to 7 years fabricate a centrifu e cascade able to produce enough highly enriched uranium rorl' I i er year ---- -- Aluminum Tubes SECRm'NOFORN b l 1 4 cl _ From 1986to 1991 lruq'searly attempts to produc e enriched uranium through gas centrifuges concentrated on carbon composite rotors and maraging steel - more sophisticqted technology th11n the aluminum tubes However lruq seeks to develop highly enriched uranium no mauer the level or technology and by qny meqns _ Open Tube Crale Detained by Jordanian Authorities The 707S T-6 aluminum tubes could be used for gas centriruges that enrich uranium for nuclear weapons I MID Supplement • 1 TOP SECRETtHi J ORCON NOFORN X1 T8P ll OAM f' - OAIOU 1181 Oiill X I 30 No111mb r 2001 1 Conventional Military Ufs Unlikely for Aluminum Tubes - b l IA c b I I 1 4 c bodies b O U c b l U c 0 1-mm metal thickness loleronce along the 900-mm length is itcessive for both rocket motor bodies and rockel launch tubes _ The solid-propellant grain carried inside the body would not require a surface as straight and smooth as that of the aluminum tubes Moreover a rocket launch tube docs not need such tight m11nufacturing tolerances The rocket's folding tins will cause slight wear on the inner wall as they fire If the launcher is reusable as all known multiple rockel launchers are the tight manufacturing tolerances are not required A launcher firing spin-stobilized rockets no tins would cause similar wear to the launch tube b l 1 4 c b l 1 4 r' Iraqi or Centrlruges Used In One Method Uranium EnrlchmenL These centrifuges used for uranium enrichment were found in Iraq after the Oulf War Supplsmsnl MID 30 No11t1mb r 2001 -- Gas Cenlr uyes - - - - _ 1 UHCI ASSlFIED Gaa Centrifuge Talla Product Magnetic BNrlng and Damping Auambly Rotaitlng Baffle olecular Pump Rota altom Sc 00 Iraqi Nuclear Program maa The centriruge operates on a basic principle or centrifugal force which scpanlleS the fissionable U-235 for weapons use rrom the heavier U-238 G11SCOus uranium hexafluoride UF is fed into II centrifuge that spins at high speed inside a casing The resulting centrifuglll effect forces 1hc UF gas into a thin layer next 10 the rotor wnll Centrifugal force also moves the heavier llllUF molcClllcs clo 'it r to the wall thu It docs the lighlcr D'UF molecules Becuuse of the small amount of enrichment and small qu11ntity flowing throughput producing one or two weapons' wonh of highly enriched urunium a year typically requires a plant with several thousand centrifuges opcruting nearly full time The resultant 90-percent U-23S product is u common fissile material for nuclear weapons Iraq docs not have the Infrastructure to support Saddam Husayn's nuclear aspirations but the country's procurement elforts suggest an intent to reconstitute the pre-OulfWar nuclear weapon program Since the end of UN Special Commission intrusive monitoring in 1998 haq hu increased its procurement efforts for dual-use items Moreover the Iraqis havr the eAper1ise to reconstitute a nuclear weapons program and they have retained some key nonfissilc materials and equipment Some scientists involved in the country's nuclear weapon program before Operation DESERT STORM most likely are working on low-level lheoretical design and research projects _ Baghdad probably would need foreign assistance and 11t le11St 5 years l'rom the slart of 11 major effort to produce fissile materilll for one weapon However Iraq could develop a crude weapon within I year if it acquin d sufficient weapons-grade fissile material from 11 foreign source 3 MID Supplement Jlf lllftl iW8B IN tlllilRNA411 l 1 11 •1•o•r•ec•e•1•1c111llfl'Jfb g · • en1au uaf11nu 30 Na1111mb r 2001 b l 1 1 c Assessment hasp EB1111l Oi8£ 1 JP Since mid-2000 Iraq 4 tried to procure at least '· I 7075 T-6 aluminum tubes in violation of UN sanctions and despite great international pressure against such procurement b I 1 4 c l Or I DI I I i Although alternative uses for these tubes are possible such as rocket motor cases or rocket launch tubes the spedfications are consistent with earlier Iraqi gas centrifuge rotor designs The specified tolerances for the tubes are extremely high The highgrade rigid aluminum tube properties would allow the tubes to operate at high speeds as centrifuge rotors and anodization would protect against damage from the highly reactive properties of uranium hexanuoride gas If Baghdad procures most of these tubes it could in S to 7 years fabricate a centrifuge cascade able to produce enough highly enriched uranium for ' er year b l 1 4 c h 2 h 3 IO j use 42 S 4 TIP ll Onn f Fx J 1¥ona11u11r1F1HfM Supplement MID · b 1 l8P 8E6RET1tx ·t on1n11 11aran11M1 I 2 -