Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL) is a semi-civilian controlled weapon development and nuclear science research laboratoy. KRL is located at Kahuta, Punjab, Pakistan. Kahuta is the site of Pakistan's main nuclear weapons laboratory as well as an emerging centre for long-range missile development. The primary Pakistani fissile-material production facility is located at Kahuta, employing gas centrifuge enrichment technology to produce Highly Enriched Uranium [HEU].
Chinese assistance in the development of gas centrifuges at Kahuta was indicated by the presence of Chinese technicians at the facility in the early 1980s but it is not confirmed. The uranium enrichment facility began operating in 1984, but suffered serious start up problems.
Research facility aad education
Kahuta began producing HEU in 1986, and Pakistan's fabrication of weapons may have begun soon thereafter, with the HEU hexafluoride being made into uranium metal which was machined into weapon pits. By the late 1980s Pakistan began advertising its nuclear potential by publishing technical articles on centrifuge design, including a 1987 article co-authored by A. Q. Khan on balancing sophisticated ultracentrifuge rotors.
Operations
Nuclear Weapon Research
Operating at full capacity, Kahuta is estimated to have the potential to produce enough weapon-grade uranium for as many as 3 to 6 weapons each year. But the gas centrifuge plant has been plagued by chronic delays. As of 1984 there were reportedly approximately 1,000 centrifuges operating at the facility. About 1991, Pakistan installed additional centrifuges, raising its HEU production capacity roughly threefold. By 1991 about 3000 machines were thought to be operating with a production capacity of 30–50 kg U-235/year, enough for 2-3 implosion weapons a year.
U. S. Response
In 1988 the US and Pakistan reached an informal understanding, which according to US officials went into effect in 1993, under which Pakistan agreed to freeze production of bomb-grade HEU indefinitely, and to refrain from enriching uranium to a level above 20% U-235. Prior to the 1998 nuclear tests, the US had reportedly obtained intelligence indicating that Pakistan had stopped production of bomb-grade uranium.
HEU Capacity
However, following the tests A.Q. Khan claimed that Pakistan had never stopped making bomb-grade HEU during the 1980s and 1990s, and reportedly US officials said "we don't have enough information" to conclude that Pakistan was not making weapons-grade HEU.[citation needed] As of mid-1998 estimates of Pakistan's HEU inventory ranged between 100 and 500 kilograms. Assuming that Pakistan would need about 20 kilograms for a single weapon, Pakistan's stockpile might be estimated at between 5 and 25 weapons.
KRL and China National Nuclear Corporation
In early 1996 it was reported that the A.Q. Khan Research Laboratory received 5,000 ring magnets, which can be used in gas centrifuges, from the China National Nuclear Corporation, a subsidiary of the China National Nuclear Corporation, a state-owned corporation. The US intelligence community believed the magnets were for special suspension bearings at the top of the centrifuge rotating cylinders. According to the dr. A. Q. Khan, Government of Pakistan allowed KRL to invest in Chinese Nuclear Program and provided a technical has support to China's centrifuge and nuclear program. Khan also alleges without unsupported evidence that KRL has built a centrifuge plant for China in Hanzhong province.
Corporate Business
The shipment was made between late 1994 and mid-1995 and was reportedly worth $70,000. Some reports suggested that the ring magnets would allow Pakistan to effectively double its capacity to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons production. Pakistan had operated the plant only intermittently, and little information is publicly available concerning annual or total production of weapon-grade uranium at Kahuta.
Ballistic Missile Development
The Kahuta facility has also been a participant in Pakistan's missile development program. Pakistan operates a ballistic missile research centre at Kahuta along with its uranium enrichment operation. KRL has successfully developed and tested Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles based on liquid fuel technology and its associated sub systems.
Ambiguity of Kahuta Reseach Laboratries
Pakistan has followed policy of deliberate ambiguity for decades. Pakistan is also believed to continue its policy of deliberate ambiguity in which the current plans of Khan Labs, PAEC, KRL and other strategic scientific programs, are unknown as are the locations of its senior scientists, engineers, and executive officers. It is also unknown about its new head of the KRL.[citation needed]
Other Projects
KRL has also undertaken many other defense projects of national importance to enable Pakistan to become self-reliant in various sophisticated weapon systems and to save valuable foreign exchange. These projects include:
