Other Name: Formerly Sultanabad
Location: Latitude 34° 06' North; longitude 49° 41' East; 239km southwest of Tehran; province of Markazi
Primary Function: Rocket research and development; modifications to the Shehab 2 (Scud-C) missile, and management of a tractor factory.
Description and Activities:
Arak, formerly Sultanabad, is located 239km southwest of Tehran in the province of Markazi. Its activities include the research and design of rockets, Shehab 2 missile modifications, and management of a tractor factory. In 1989, Romania helped Iran modernize a tractor factory in Arak. It was reported in 1998 that the French firm, Air Liquide, had constructed a number of facilities to separate air into oxygen and nitrogen at principal petrochemical sites in Arak. This may be related to Iran's need for a large indigenous supply of nitrogen for its various liquid-fuel missiles.
Key Sources: "The World," Los Angeles Times, 22 March 1989, p.2; accessed via Lexis-Nexis Universe, <http://www.lexis-nexis.com>; "The Iran Brief," Issue Number 49, 3 August 1998, <http://www.iran.org>; John Pike, "Arak," <http://www.globalsecurity.org>.
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Updated May 2004 |
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