IRAQ: BAGHDAD'S INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION FOR MILITARY PRODUCTION

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06773001
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2022
• Document Release Date: December 31, 2018
• Case Number: F-2018-00448
• Publication Date: June 30, 1989

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Directorate of -Seeret�
Intelligence
Near East and
South Asia Review (u)
30 June 1989
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AllWcA PRODUCTION OFFICER
03141-0342
Secret
NESA NESAR 89-014
30 June 1989
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Iraq: Baghdad's International Exhibition for Military
Production
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The exhibition, held from 28 April to 2 May, was an ambitious
project that reflected the desire of President Saddam Husayn to
expand Iraq's arms industry. The fair sought to display Iraq's
military prowess and send a not-so-subtle message to Iran and other
regional foes.
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Iraq: Baghdad's Baghdad's International
Exhibition for Military
Production
Baghdad's recent International Exhibition for
Military Production was an ambitious�and
ultimately successful�project that reflected the
desire of Iraqi President Saddam Husayn to expand
Iraq's arms industry. The fair, which was held
between 28 April and 2 May
provided new insights on Iraq's arms
industry as well as unprecedented exposure to its
products. In addition to enhancing Iraqi prestige, the
exhibition sought to display Iraq's military prowess
and to send a not-so-subtle warning to Iran and other
regional foes.
Background
Baghdad developed plans to modernize and expand its
arms industry during the economic boom of the late
1970s but could not sustain them during the war. In
the past decade, Iraq managed to become relatively
self-sufficient only in the production of some small
arms, ammunition, and military explosives, while
establishing a limited capability to manufacture some
spare parts and electronic equipment and to repair
large ground forces equipment such as armored
vehicles and artillery. Shortages of foreign exchange,
wartime export control regulations and embargoes by
exporters of industrial technology, and the demands of
the war on Iraqi manpower combined to stall Iraq's
other plans to build major production facilities for
tanks, missiles, and trainer aircraft. Instead, the
Iraqis apparently concentrated on making minor
modifications to weapons already in their inventory
and on building prototypes of new weapons based on
components taken from available weapons. In the case
of the Condor II missile program, Baghdad's
difficulties probably prompted it to cooperate with
Egypt and Argentina to develop the missile outside
Iraq.
The success of Iraq's crash program to modify Scud
missiles to strike Tehran and some easing of financial
pressures and increased availability of technicially
skilled manpower following the end of the war
apparently have encourged Baghdad to resume its
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interrupted plans for expanding its arms industry and
develop new ones. The Ministry of Industry and
Military Industrialization (MIMI), which was formed
from the Ministry of Industry and Minerals in early
1988, is responsible for all aspects of military .
production. MIMI is led by Saddam's cousin and son-
in-law Husayn Kamil al-Majid, whose appointment as
minister probably is owed as much to his role as
director of the successful chemical weapons and
missile modification programs as to his relation to
Saddam. Al-Majid is already using his managerial
skills, political support, and events such as the
military fair to push for additional investment and
foreign participation in the arms industry, in our
judgment.
MIMI is managing numerous projects and
negotiations with foreign firms that involve
technology transfers and the construction and
equipping of coproduction plants, research facilities,
and support infrastructure (for example, roads,
bridges, and hydroelectric power dams). Moreover, al-
Majid is pushing efforts to develop a civilian
industrial base to support the military facilities.
According to press reports
Iraq earlier this year awarded a contract to
an ta ian firm to build a steel plant, and is seeking
offers on an aluminum smelter and specialty steel
plant as well.' During the military fair, Majid
announced an ambitious two-year program to develop
sufficient industries to cover all of the armed forces'
needs for weapons and equipment. He expressed hope
that the experience gained and the resources derived
from military industrialization would eventually be
used to support civilian production. This statement, in
our judgment, reveals that M1MI's projects probably
will receive the highest priority for funding in Iraq
over the next several years.
' Before signing this contract, Iraq had considered purchasing an
idle USX stecl plant in Texas as a short-term solution to its
shortage of locally produced steel. (u)
-Ser.set�
NESA NESAR 89-014
30 June 1989
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Husayn Kamil al-Majid
Husayn Kamil al-Majid
Minister of Industry and
Military Industrialization (u)
Husayn Kamil al-Majid is the most powerful man in
Iraq's government after President Saddam Husayn,
in our judgment. Both son-in-law and paternal cousin
to Saddam, he has risen from humble beginnings as a
security official to direct Saddam 's personal security
organization. As Minister of Industry and Military
Industrialization, al-Majid heads Iraq's campaign to
develop nuclear, biological, chemical, and
conventional weapons technologies�programs
Saddam deems most important for the security of the
country and the postwar rejuvenation of Iraqi
(b)(3) industry.
We believe Saddam is grooming al-Majid for greater
responsibilities by further including him in the
government's day-to-day operations. Al-Majid
attends key leadership meetings, even though he is
not a high ranking member of the Bath Party, and
was constantly seen at Saddam 's side following Iraq's
major battlefield victories last year. In April al-
Majid publicly announced the purchase of 50 Mirage
2000 fighter aircraft from France, a responsibility
usually given to the Minister of Defense. Although he
holds the rank of major-general, al-Majid has no
formal military training. We believe the death of
Defense Minister Khayrallah on 5 May will lead to
additional defense-related responsibilities for al-
Majid.
Born in 1955, al-Majid has a reputation for single-
mindedness and completing assigned tasks on
schedule Al-
Majid married the President's eldest daughter.
Raghad, in 1983
The Exhibition for Military Production
We believe MIMI hosted the Baghdad International
Exhibition for Military Production to boost the image
of Iraq's defense industries and highlight the vital role
that the military-industrial complex will play in
postwir Iraq. The ministry also probably hoped the
fair would attract the interest of a large number of
foreign defense industries with the likely intention of
(b)(3) using potential business opportunities to tie transfers
of defense technology to any future Iraqi arms
purchases.
The exhibition was an ambitious and successful first
effort that featured more than 200 companies from 28
countries. France had the largest contingent of
exhibitors with 34, with the United Kingdom not far
behind. Despite the large foreign presence, the
burgeoning Iraqi arms industry was clearly the
centerpiece of the exhibition and star of the show. (u)
An amazing array of Iraqi weapons systems�
everything from small arms to 900-kilometer-range
missiles�were displayed. The Iraqis claimed that
they were either producing or capable of producing
most of the systems on displaying. In fact, most of the
operational weapons sytems exhibited were foreign
designed and produced and had only earned the
"Iraqi" label by being assembled or modified in Iraq.
The only completely indigenous Iraqi weapons shown
were small arms, light artillery, boats, and munitions.
The majority of the more sophisticated indigenous
Iraqi weapons systems were prototypes and/or
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-Freeret�
mockups that had probably not yet left the initial
research stage. Despite MIMI's attempts to oversell
Iraqi industrial capabilities, the exhibition
demonstrated the proven Iraqi ability to adapt and
modify weapons systems to meet the unique and
specific requirements of the Iraqi military.
Highlights of the Exhibition
Modified Aircraft. The major surprise at the fair's
airshow was a Soviet-made, Iraqi Air Force MiG-23
BN Flogger H fighter-bomber modified with a
probable Mirage Fl type aerial refueling probe.
the Iraqis
claim that they have modified 15 such Floggers that
can be fully refueled from Mirage Fls with a
centerline fuel tank or 11-76 Candid transports with a
drogue refueling assembly.
Another major surprise was the unveiling of the
Baghdad 1, an 11-76 MD jet transport modified into
an airborne early-warning (AEW) aircraft and
another example of Iraqi efforts to modify and
combine several operational systems into a new
weapons system platform. The Iraqis claim that they
have modified an Iraqi-assembled, French-designed
2106 Tiger G radar and placed it into a radomc under
the aft section of the fuselage. The Iraqis also claimed
that this aircraft was operational during the last four
months of the war and was used to provide early
warning to Iraqi aircraft. Information is passed from
the Baghdad 1 to ground stations by voice
communications and data-link, according to the
Iraqis. The Baghdad 1 is also said to have a limited
ELINT and COMINT capability. It does not have
the capability to direct and control aircraft such as
the US E-3 Sentry AWACS. In our judgment, the
Baghdad 1 is still in an early testing stage
Main Battle Tanks. The Iraqis displayed a large
amount of armor and artillery at the exhibition,
reflecting the important role these weapons systems
play in the Iraqi Army. Iraq unveiled its Asad Babel
(Lion of Babylon) main battle tank, but the only Iraqi
item on the Lion of Babylon was a brass lion welded
to the glacis plate at the front of the tank. In fact, the
Lion of Babylon was a standard Soviet-designed T-
72M1 medium tank probably made in Gdansk,
Poland. The tanks are shipped with the main gun tube
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detached and assembled upon arrival in Iraq. One
intresting Iraqi claim was that the Lion of Babylon
had been modified with a jammer for anti-tank
guided missiles,
The Iraqis displayed several older generation T-55
medium tanks that had been upgraded with a new
main gun and armor or had been modified for special
use. One of the tanks had its standard 100-mm main
gun replaced with a 125-mm main gun, a laser range-
finder and an autoloader. Another T-55 had add-on
armor that consisted of 12-inch blocks of armor in a
steel framework welded to within 18 inches from the
turret, front, and sides of the tank.
A third T-55 had an indigenously produced
mine-roller in front of the tracks.
Artillery Systems. Two strikingly new self-propelled
(SP) artillery guns/howitzers�one a 155-mm caliber
and the other a 210-mm caliber�were unveiled. The
guns were prototypes, and each utilized the same 6x6
wheeled, articulated chassis, the first such wheeled
self-propelled guns in the Iraqi inventory. The
Majnoon (155-mm) had an advertised range of 38.8
kilometers with a 45.5 kilogram round. The Al Fao
(210-mm) had a claimed range of 57.34 kilometers
with a 109.4 kilogram round. This caliber weapon is
the first of its kind in the world. Press reporting
indicates that it is possibly of French-origin and was
designed to bypass export restrictions on the standard
203-mm caliber.
One of the more impressive artillery systems on
display was a modified four-barrelled 120-mm self-
propelled mortar carrier. The system featured four
smooth-bore 120-mm mortars mounted side-by-side
on a hydraulic platform at the rear of an MTLB
armored personnel carrier. This mortar system�with
a range of 8,000 to 10,000 meters�will effectively
provide a dedicated indirect fire support battery to
platoon-size units.
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Military Exhibition Air Show
The highlight of the fair was a series of air shows at
Baghdad Mutheana airfield. Over two dozen aircraft
made Right demonstrations with the Soviet-produced
Iraqi MiG-29 and French Mirage 2000 fighter-
bombers headlining the airshow. Although the MiG-29
�pride of the Iraqi Air Force and flown by one of the
best Iraqi pilots�got top billing, the Mirage 2000 and
its French pilot stole the show. The MiG-29
performance was lackluster and probably unrehearsed.
The Iraqi pilot flew no set routine and only performed
basic maneuvers well within the limitations of the
aircraft. In contrast, the Mirage 2000 was flown to the
limit, performing aggressive air combat maneuvers
and clearly outshining the MiG-29.
Considering it was the first such effort, the Iraqi Air
Force put on a good performance. The Iraqis stuck to
the flight schedule with little delay and had only
minor glitches. The Iraqis, however, had some
difficult and tricky moments during the show.
Performing aircraft violated safety regulations
several times during Right demonstrations,
No consideration
was given to crowd control in the aircraft operations
area. On more than one occasion, people had to
quickly get out of the way of aircraft taxiing into the
display area�and Iraqi pilots had been given little if
any training in how to Ry, in an airshow,
Multiple Rocket Launchers (MRL). Three Iraqi
MRL systems were on display, the Ababel 100, the
Ababel 50, and the Sejjil 30/40/60. The Ababel 100
was probably a prototype MRL with four launch
tubes each firing a 400-mm rocket with a stated range
of 100 kilometers. The Ababel 50 is an Iraqi copy of a
Yugoslay. 12-tube, 262-mm MRL with a range of 50
kilometers. The Iraqis claimed they were producing
this MRL as well as the rockets with two different
types of warheads�one a cluster round with 300
antiarmor/fragmentation bomblets and the second an
antiarmor round that dispenses 30 antitank mines.
The Sejjil 30/40/60 is the Iraqi copy of the Brazilian
Astros II MRL�manufactured by Avibras�that has
been in the Iraqi inventory for several years. The
Avibras representative at the fair stated that Iraq was
just beginning to produce the Sejjil MRL under
license. The Iraqis claimed that they have three
different rockets for the Sejjil MRL:
� Sejjil 60: 1 round MRL, 300-mm rocket, range of
20 to 60 kilometer, cluster warhead with 30
bomblets.
� Sejjil 40: 4 round MRL, 180-mm rockets, range of
15 to 35 kilometer, cluster warhead with 20 time-
delay bomblets.
� Sejjil 30: 6 round MRL, 127-mm rockets, range of 9
to 30 kilometers, 21- kilogram high-explosive
warhead.
Missiles. Both the Al Husayn and Al Abbas
extended-range Scud surface-to-surface missiles
(SSMs) were on display. The only visible difference to
the standard Scud missile was that the missile
airframe had been lengthened on both missiles. A new
SSM launcher�the Walleed-l�was on display. It
reportedly was capable of firing both the Al Husayn
and Al Abbas, and we believe it is probably used in
the Iraqi missile testing program. A mockup of the Al
Faw ATBM was on display, but it was not an
operational missile, and the display was more for show
than anything else. Two new missiles on display were
the Fand 300 and 500 single-stage, SSMs with a
claimed range of 300 and 500 kilometers, respectively.
These were probably prototypes of systems under
development. The Iraqis also displayed a probable
FROG-7 artillery rocket�the Layth�modified to
carry, a submunition warhead.
Munitions. MIMI displayed a host of indigenously
produced and modified munitions. These included
250-kilogram and 500-kilogram cluster bombs,
infrared-guided bombs, fuel-air explosive bombs, air-
droppable naval mines, and a host of general-purpose
bombs up to an amazingly large 9,000 kilogram
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I 20-mm self-propelled mortar carrier
SEJJIL 30140/60 multiple rocket launcher
Al Husayn missile components
Ababel 50. 262-mm multiple rocket launcher
WALEED-I SSM launcner
Al PAW-1 ATBM mockup
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"Lion of of Babylon" medium tank
T-55 medium tank with add-on armor
Al Fao 210-mm self-propelled gun/howitzer
MaJnoon 155-mm self-propelled gunlhowtizer
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Al Husayn (left) and Al Abbas (right) extended range
Scud SSMs
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MiG-23 BN Flogger H modified with aerial refueling probe
Leaping Into the Field
The weapon systems displayed in Baghdad shed new
light on Iraqi capabilities and plans. We believe Iraq
probably will continue to concentrate on modifications
of major weapons systems until long-term plans to
create the infrastructure necessary for large-scale
assembly or production is in place. Iraq, however,
probably will be able soon to begin producing for
export in some areas�particularly munitions�
where it has significant experience and technical
skills.' Additionally, the electronic and other
Iraq apparently devoted considerable effort during the war to
developing bombs and other antiocrsn9ncl weapons
most of the bombs displayed
this year were also shown at a smaller fair in October 1988 and
may be in production on a scale sufficient to support international
sales
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components displayed suggest that Baghdad will soon
be ready to use them to support the planned
coproduction facilities and possibly to bring in some
export earnings.
The military exhibition also suggests that Baghdad
will not move in incremental stages in building its
arms industries. Iraq will in some cases try to bypass
the time-consuming development of technical skills
and experience through licensed assembly or
coproduction. We believe Iraq is likely to continue
moving directly into independent or partially
dependent research and development�including
reverse engineering and modification�and small-
scale production, particularly in areas such as missiles
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where licensed assembly or coproduction may not be
readily available. Iraq's licensed assembly of systems
like the Astros II multiple rocket launcher, its various
prototype systems, and its announced plans for
coproduction projects indicate that Baghdad is trying
to initiate its military industrialization at several
levels. We believe, however, that Iraq's all-out
approach toward developing its still embryonic arms
industries will involve many missteps and abandoned
projects.
Conclusion
Iraq's growing arms industry will be increasingly
important to Baghdad in the postwar period. In
addition to the national pride the Iraqis obviously felt
in the military exhibition's display of their production
and engineering achievements, the arms industry fills
an important role in larger national security goals:
� Stung by embargoes during the war, Saddam
almost certainly intends to reduce Iraq's dependence
on its major arms suppliers.
� Baghdad probably hopes that growing self-
sufficency in arms production, particularly in the
development of missiles and special weapons, will
help it maintain its military advantage over Iran.
� The display of some prototypes, such as the mockup
of the Al Faw 1 antiballistic missile, as well as some
of the carefully crafted Iraqi statements touting the
fair, probably were intended to warn Iran and
Baghdad's other regional foes that Iraq's military
prowess is increasing. Tehran acknowledged the
Iraqi fair by accusing the West of trying to turn
Iraq into a regional policeman.
� Baghdad's announcement that it will sell Iraqi-
produced weapons to other Arab states as well as its
provision of surplus war materiel to states such as
Jordan, Chad, and Sudan indicate its intention to
use its arms industries to further foreign policy
aims.
--Seeret--
We believe the military exhibition and Baghdad's
announcement of its ambitious plans also indicate that
Iraq hopes its efforts to develop an arms industry will
provide other benefits. The Iraqis apparently believe
that building the infrastructure and necessary
industrial capacity for the arms industry will also aid
the civilian economy. These programs also probably
will ease some demands on Iraq's economy by
absorbing some of the manpower that will become
available with demobilization. Baghdad may also
believe that the arms industry will eventually provide
export earnings
The Baghdad fair further demonstrated the growing
importance of the Ministry of Industry and Military
Industrialization, in our judgment.
the military exhibition was
the full responsibility of al-Majid and his Ministry.
Al-Majid's high profile during the exhibition probably
enabled him and the ministry to reap substantial
benefits from the fair's success and will likely ensure
that his military industrialization program continues
to received a high priority for funding and political
support.
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