Early Activities

Thanks to Asahara's wealth and the wealth of the many members recruited, Aum ultimately amassed the equivalent of about 1 Billion USD. Using its massive wealth, Aum successfully purchased a twin-turbine Mi-19 helicopter armed with chemical spray dispersal devices. Additionally, Spetsnaz agents were hired to train Aum members in advanced combat techniques including the use of rocket launchers and assault rifles. With their wealth, Aum was able to purchase any intel from the Russians that they would ever need.

Aum prepared for Armageddon by producing copious amounts of arms in specially designed multimillion dollar facilities. Aum used advanced robotic manufacturing to construct Kalashnikov rifles and ammunition and reportedly had "perfected" the manufacturing of TNT and RDX (used in making plastic explosives). 

When Aum was ultimately raided by police, authorities confiscated enough sarin gas to kill 4.2 million people, various types of nerve gas, anthrax, Q-fever, Ebola, mescaline and over a million doses of LSD. 

Aum's most ambitious project was their hopes of creating a nuclear arsenal. Aum purchased a 500,000 acre property in Australia with the hopes of mining for uranium. The uranium would then be shipped back to laboratories in Japan where it would be refined into weapons grade using laser enrichment technology. In May 28, 1993, an explosion lit up the sky for miles and generated shock waves felt hundreds of miles away. The cause is unexplained, but believed to be related to Aum's nuclear research.