Other Names: Hubaniya Motor Case Production Facility; Dhu Al Fiqar Plant—Bulat Al Shuhada' Factory
Location: 120km SW of Baghdad, near Ameriya
Subordinate to: Rashid State Establishment, Military Industrialization Corporation
Primary Function: Motor case and flexible nozzle production for solid rocket motors; hydrostatic testing of motor cases

Description:
Amin makes up one of the three facilities of the Rashid State Establishment, the others being M'utasim and Ma'moun.

The Amin factory was built in 1988 to produce and test motor case and flexible nozzles for the Badr-2000 (known in Argentina as the Condor-2) and Sakr-200 missiles; the site was also used for prototype production of the pre-war version of the Ababil-100. It is located amongst a complex of large military-industrial facilities—the Amir Military Production Plant and the Saddam General Establishment—in the Ameriya area known to Iraq as the "Ameriya Complex." Before the Gulf War, the facility was called Dhu Al-Fiqar of the three-site Bulat Al-Shuhada' plant. In early 1992, the name was changed to the Amin Factory of the Rashid State Establishment.

The site itself was composed of some 20 buildings with four main production halls. Although not all the equipment had been installed and qualified prior to Desert Storm, the facility contained very capable production and machining equipment, as well as hydrostatic test equipment. The Iraqis told UN inspectors that the site never began production of Badr-2000 motor cases and nozzles becuase of insufficient foreign technical assistance; they did admit, however, that motor case production trials had begun using carbon steel. Moreover, Iraq declared that the site was only designed for first stage production, given that they were unsure of the second stage design (a liquid second stage was posited). UN inspectors did not find specific toolings necessary for second stage manufacture at the site.

The air campaign during Desert Storm destroyed some 40 percent of the buildings as well as some equipment. Following the introduction of inspections, UNSCOM further destroyed a vast array of specialized or otherwise capable equipment at the site, including CNC lathes, an extruder, welding machines, wrapping machines, measurement equipment, ovens, transport dollies, an hydraulic press, a rolling machine, and x-ray equipment.

By 1993, Iraq had repaired most of the buildings and consolidated and repaired some equipment. Amin was therefore tasked with producing quarter-scale and full-scale motor cases for the Ababil-100 solid-propellant missile; this project was to include the nozzles and forward and aft end domes. Additional work included the attempt to produce the mandrel for the motor as well as Ababil-50 motor cases. Commercial projects focused on production of CO2 for a number of domestic customers. In the event, the attempts at Ababil-100 production failed because of a lack of technology, materials, expertise, and experience. Amin was also tasked with producing the motor case for the Mutasady air-to-air missile and nozzles for the Saham Saddam air-to-air system. Total employees at the time of the first round of inspections was approximately 50, including five to seven engineers.

From 1999-2003, Amin apparently maintained its involvement in motor case and nozzle production, notably for the Al-Fateh and Al-'Abour missile. UNMOVIC reported that the number of employees was 165, a marked increase from the numbers in the mid-1990s. Amin was also producing the body of the Al-Fateh cluster-type warhead. In February 2003, UNMOVIC inspected and tagged equipment previously destroyed by UNSCOM but subsequently repaired by Iraq.

Key Sources: UN Inspection Data; CNS UNMOVIC Inspection Database, <http://cns.miis.edu/Iraq-Inspections>.

	Updated October 2003