Iraq declared that it had conducted several cruise missile activities in the years prior to Desert Storm. This work involved both of the major missile teams, Project 144 and Project 1728.

The most widely known project was "Al-Fao," the attempt by Project 144 to increase the range of the HY-2 anti-ship missile. Iraqi experts explained that during the Iran-Iraq War, Teheran was well aware of the HY-2's maximum effective range of 95km and that the Iranian Navy would, therefore, not approach the Iraqi coastline within range of a missile shot. Tank extensions and other modifications were made to the HY-2 in the attempt to achieve a 140km range. Two flight trials were made; the first met with limited success and the second crashed almost immediately after launch. Engineers determined that the addition of propellant volume adversely affected the missile's flight characteristics and, after the war ended, the project was cancelled. The Fao-150 and Fao-200 were displayed at the Baghdad military fair for propaganda purposes though, in fact, no such missiles existed.

As similar attempt was made to increase the range of the P-15 anti-ship missile to 70km although, according to Iraq, the project never went past the research and development phase.

Project 144 was also tasked with maintenance and repair of anti-ship missiles. In particular, the military was concerned about the large amount of defective and broken HY-2 radomes and requested the missile team to produce the part. In response, engineers attempted to procure the materials and technology necessary for their manufacture.

Finally, and as noted in the entry on Project 1728, Iraq attempted to reverse engineer the HY-2 engine. However, given other priorities, not much work was done on the project. Design drawings were made for the combustion chamber/nozzle and the turbo pump. These drawings were sent to a foreign company to obtain mandrels for shell production although these mandrels were never received. A foreign country was also approached for a "turn-key" production capability, but the offer was considered too costly.

	Updated October 2003