H-Net* Dimona - Israel Special Weapons Facilities

[Ahmad Chukari]

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/israel/facility/dimona_pir.html

Title: Dimona - Israel Special Weapons Facilities

FAS | Nuke | Guide | Israel | Facility | Dimona |||| Index | Search | Join FAS Dimona Photographic Interpretation Report New high-resolution satellite imagery provides important new insights into Israel's nuclear weapons capabilities. The imagery of the Dimona nuclear reactor was acquired by Space Imaging Corporation's IKONOS satellite on July 4th 2000 on behalf of the Public Eye Project of the Federation of American Scientists. These new revelations, coincide with a debate in Israel over nuclear weapons policy, prompted by the June 2000 publication in Hebrew in Israel of Avner Cohen's book Israel and the Bomb. Israel is by now the only nuclear weapons state that does not acknowledge the fact that it possesses nuclear weapons. The most significant finding derived from the new imagery is that Israel's nuclear weapons stockpile probably consists of between 100 and 200 nuclear weapons. Some previously published estimates had suggested that Israel might possess as many as 400 nuclear weapons. We do not believe this is the case. The Dimona nuclear reactor, in operation since early 1965, is the source of plutonium for Israeli nuclear weapons. The number of nuclear weapons that could have been produced by Israel can be estimated on the basis of the power level of this reactor. Information made public in 1986 by Mordechai Vanunu, Frank Barnaby and other analysts suggested that the reactor might have a power level of at least 150 megawatts, about twice the power level at which is was believed to be operating around 1970. To accommodate this higher power level, analysts had suggested that Israel had constructed an enlarged cooling system. An alternative interpretation of the information supplied by Vanunu was that the reactor's power level had remained at about 70 megawatts,as French sources had maintain (e.g. Pierre Pean), and that the production rate of plutonium in the early 1980s reflected a backlog of previously generated material. The cooling towers associated with the Dimona reactor are clearly visible and identifiable in satellite imagery. Comparison of IKONOS imagery acquired in July 2000 with declassified American CORONA reconnaissance satellite imagery taken in the 1960's indicates that no new cooling towers were constructed in the years between 1971 and 2000. This strongly suggests that the reactor's power level has not been increased significantly during this period. Based on plausible upper and lower bounds of the operating practices at the reactor, Israel could have thus produced enough plutonium for at least 100 nuclear weapons, but probably not significantly more than 200 weapons. The new satellite imagery also provides insights into other aspects of Israel's nuclear weapons capabilities. Israel could also use highly enriched uranium to build nuclear weapons, or to increase the yield of nuclear weapons using plutonium. Published reports suggest that beginning in the 1980's Israel began work on at least two different techniques for production of uranium for nuclear weapons; gas centrifuge and laser separation. Evaluation of several satellite images provides probable indication of which buildings at Dimona may be associated with such activities. The size of these buildings suggests, but cannot prove, that Israeli uranium enrichment activities remain at a relatively small scale. Israel does not appear to have built industrial-scale uranium enrichment at Dimona facility. Existing pilot-scale facilities would not appear to have the potential to substantially increase the total size of the Israeli nuclear weapons stockpile. A number of other structures and areas are visible in the new imagery, though their functions are not entirely apparent. A probable nuclear waste disposal area is visible about a kilometer from the main facility, as suggested by previously published reports. It has long been reported that Dimona is defended from aerial attack by a battery of Hawk anti-aircraft missiles, and a complex possibly associated with such defenses is evident in the satellite imagery. A rather larger nearby complex, constructed sometime between 1986 and 2000, may possibly be associated with new defenses for Dimona, and may represent the future site of either a Patriot or Arrow anti-missile battery. As many as four Scud-derived missiles were fired towards the vicinity of Dimona by Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War. Click on the small image to view a larger version CORONA IMAGERY 29 September 1971 Dimona - Overview Dimona - Overview

Click on the small image to view a larger version SPOT IMAGERY 09 June 1986 Dimona - Overview Dimona - Overview Click on the small image to view a larger version IKONOS IMAGERY 04 July 2000 Dimona - Overview Dimona - Overview Facility Overview Click on the small image to view a larger version CORONA IMAGERY 29 September 1971 IKONOS IMAGERY 04 July 2000 IKONOS IMAGERY 04 July 2000 Dimona-Facility Overview Dimona-Facility Overview Facility Expansion Overview An examination of CORONA, SPOT and IKONOS imagery of the central part of the Dimona complex reveals only modest change over the past 30 years. Although dozens of smaller building have been build between 1971 and 2000, only two medium size buildings measuring 26,500 and 30,100 square feet, have been added since 1971. A larger 84,000 square foot building has been expanded to 103,700 feet as well. Click on the small image to view a larger version CORONA IMAGERY 09 29 September 1971 IKONOS IMAGERY 04 July 2000 Reactor Detail Reactor Detail The cooling towers associated with the Dimona reactor are clearly visible and identifiable in satellite imagery. Comparison of IKONOS imagery acquired in July 2000 with declassified American CORONA reconnaissance satellite imagery taken in the 1960's indicates that no new cooling towers were constructed in the years between 1971 and 2000. This strongly suggests that the reactor's power level has not been increased significantly during this period. The Big Dig Click on the small image to view a larger version CORONA IMAGERY 25 August 1963 CORONA IMAGERY 10 December 1965 1963 Excavation 1965 Excavation Corona Imagery from 1963 and 1965 reveal a large excavation measuring 100 x 100 meters could have contained a large underground facility - possibly the Machon 2 reprocessing facility. The Israelis removed an estimated 66,000 to 81,000 cubic yards of soil. IKONOS IMAGERY 04 July 2000 2000 - Excavation filled in Later imagery shows Israeli efforts to fill and landscape the terrain where the excavation took place. According to published reports the Israelis have taken numerous camouflage, concealment, and deception measures at Dimona. This excavation is consistent with this type of activity. < Click on the small image to view a larger version IKONOS IMAGERY 04 July 2000 Security Perimeter IKONOS IMAGERY 04 July 2000 Low Level Waste Burial IKONOS IMAGERY 04 July 2000 Security Perimeter Dimona is surrounded by three security perimeters covering 14 square miles (36 square kilometers), and over 22 miles (36 kilometers)of fenceline. Each perimeter has an inner and outer patrol road. The inner most perimeter has two security fences with a 40 foot (12 meter) exclusion zone between. There are at least three Entry Control Points (ECPs). The first is 300 meters south of the Highway 29, the second is one Kilometer from the facility, and the third at the edge of the inner perimeter. Low Level Waste Burial For years, Israel has reportedly buried low level radioactive waste at Dimona. The waste is mixed with tar and encased in 200 liter barrels and buried a site about one kilometer from Dimona. Unidentified Areas There are several interesting terrain features and building groupings at Dimona. As of this writing, their purpose remains unclear. Sources and Methods FAS | Nuke | Guide | Israel | Facility | Dimona |||| Index | Search | Join FAS http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/israel/facility/dimona_pir.htm Maintained by John Pike Updated Friday, August 18, 2000 2:00:00 AM