Thanks AmberG.
It is interesting that they have managed to keep those centrifuges running all this time. I am told the ball bearings for those are not easily available. Clearly they have managed to keep them operational…
Operation Sindoor - Post Conflict Analysis
Re: Operation Sindoor - Post Conflict Analysis
Very good point (I have thought and done research too. about this) - YES, the bearing problem is real and nontrivial...
- My Take (qualified assessment - ):
So yes — But if a state prioritizes the program, accumulates spares, invests in repair and machine shops, and uses smart cascade design and maintenance practices.
I'll put some, some reputable evidence and expert analysis showing how Pakistan kept centrifuges running (spares, procurement, in-house machining, and technical fixes) for others to analyze - give me some time)
But my take is there is credible evidence that Pakistan (via the A.Q. Khan network and state procurement) obtained and manufactured the hard-to-get parts (including bearing preforms, specialist machine tools and spares) and developed local repair/fabrication capacity. That’s how centrifuges were kept operational for years — not magic, but supply networks + local engineering.
Expand it later but from what I know in plain language -
-Bearings and other precision parts are hard to buy openly — which is why this enrichment program used a mix of covert procurement, stockpiling, and local machining.
- The A.Q. Khan network provided the procurement channels and know-how to get started; Pakistan then developed domestic means (shops, trained machinists, and repair procedures) to keep things going.
- So when people marvel “how do they keep the centrifuges running?” the answer is: a pragmatic combination of imported parts early on, replication and repair work later, and smart engineering practices (redundancy, vibration control, cascade isolation).
-Added later ..
Some links (All from reputable sources)
-MIT/RS Kemp analysis argues that constructing basic centrifuges has never required a superpower industrial base —just intermediate industrial capability, pressure, and procurement networks.
Reporting and technical summaries on Khan’s procurement (Sanger / investigative pieces describing bearing-groove papers, Malaysian factory, etc.)
also Not a ‘Wal-Mart’, but an ‘Imports-Exports Enterprise’:
Understanding the Nature of the A.Q. Khan Network
Amber G. (quoting from MIT source):
This history argues that, contrary to popular understanding, constructing basic centrifuges has never been cutting-edge or resource-intensive. This breaks with the Manhattan Project mythology that nuclear weapons require techno-industrial greatness. Consequently, technology-based nonproliferation policies flowing from such thinking were arguably misinformed; it is likely that nuclear proliferation has been, or will be, controlled more by motivations than by technological constraints.
Re: Operation Sindoor - Post Conflict Analysis
Zero interest in “taking it up with Aadi.” My goal here, as I said, is simply to share a few technical and historical reality checks on claims in a high-stakes post. Aadi packs in a lot of sensationalism; a few points deserve a quick reality check.
Re: Operation Sindoor - Post Conflict Analysis
Just read what you posted .. reproduced here ..
No saarey, this is what you said in a previous post and implored me to read in full of "what". The cold test is the term used by Aadi in his YT. You can argue with him not me.Amber G. wrote: ↑13 Oct 2025 23:00
Bala — please read my post in full. The main issue I pointed out was the incorrect use of the term “cold test.” A “cold test” by definition uses a non-fissile core, precisely because there is no nuclear yield. Using the term as if HEU were involved is not only wrong — and lends ZERO credibility to anything that follow..it’s like saying :Also, just to be clear — I never said or implied that Pakistan didn’t have its own device in 1998. What I said was that by 1984, they were likely testing the implosion mechanism they obtained from China — that’s a very different point.“a dry swim in the ocean.”
....
Let’s keep the discussion grounded in facts and correct terminology — otherwise, we’re just building castles on sand.
Amber G.
(And truth, as ever, prefers clarity over echo..)
And later on you keep harping about "clarity, echo, truth". Please go argue with him not me, leave me out of your lecture series, tis boring for me and useless. You don't need to respond to anything I write. thank you.
Re: Operation Sindoor - Post Conflict Analysis
Balaji - Zero interest in arguing with you — just dropping a few technical reality checks. No need to read if it bores or annoys you.
But for others here who aren’t allergic to science and facts: remember, a “cold test” is like a dry swim in the ocean — no nuclear yield, no magic, just physics. A good reminder before digesting some of the more sensational claims in that post.
Amber G. - Not here for debates, just facts — feel free to ignore if you prefer stories.
But for others here who aren’t allergic to science and facts: remember, a “cold test” is like a dry swim in the ocean — no nuclear yield, no magic, just physics. A good reminder before digesting some of the more sensational claims in that post.
Amber G. - Not here for debates, just facts — feel free to ignore if you prefer stories.
Re: Operation Sindoor - Post Conflict Analysis
Pakistan Has Talent!Amber G. wrote: ↑14 Oct 2025 23:45
But my take is there is credible evidence that Pakistan (via the A.Q. Khan network and state procurement) obtained and manufactured the hard-to-get parts (including bearing preforms, specialist machine tools and spares) and developed local repair/fabrication capacity. That’s how centrifuges were kept operational for years — not magic, but supply networks + local engineering.
- So when people marvel “how do they keep the centrifuges running?” the answer is: a pragmatic combination of imported parts early on, replication and repair work later, and smart engineering practices (redundancy, vibration control, cascade isolation).
Awaiting the next manufacturing superpower!