Russia secretly helping Iran develop supersonic missiles: Report

Russia has been secretly helping Iran develop advanced supersonic cruise missiles under a multi-year covert programme, potentially giving Tehran access to a strategically sensitive technology that could significantly expand its military capabilities, the Financial Times reported.

The programme, codenamed C430L, began in 2023 and involves some of Russia’s most experienced missile specialists, according to the Financial Times. The effort is aimed at helping Iran develop a ramjet propulsion system that could allow cruise missiles to travel at several times the speed of sound.

Also Read: Putin says Russia is winning on battlefield, will not negotiate with 'terrorists'


The Financial Times said its investigation was based on leaked Russian correspondence, travel records and an analysis of military patents. The documents indicate that the programme continued even during the recent US-Israeli conflict with Iran.

“This is the transfer of a highly strategically sensitive military technology from Russia that the Iranians have wanted to acquire for decades,” Fabian Hinz, an expert on Iranian missiles and senior analyst with Conflict Armament Research, told the Financial Times.

“A programme like this would require political clearance from the very top in Russia,” Hinz said.

The ramjet technology could potentially be used in both anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles. Supersonic cruise missiles combine high speeds with the ability to fly at low altitudes, leaving air and missile defence systems less time to detect and intercept them.

That capability could be particularly valuable to Iran in the Gulf, where US and allied forces operate sophisticated land- and sea-based defence systems.

Iran has already built and flight-tested the ramjet propulsion system, the Financial Times reported, although there is no evidence that a supersonic cruise missile developed with Russian assistance has yet been deployed.

“For the Iranians, this would give them a qualitatively new strategic weapon system that could threaten US Navy vessels,” Jim Lamson, a former Iran-focused military analyst with the CIA who is now at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, told the Financial Times.

The leaked correspondence reviewed by the Financial Times also suggests that discussions surrounding the programme continued into this summer, underscoring the depth of military cooperation between Moscow and Tehran.

Also Read: Iran crisis puts Xi-Putin’s anti-US bloc to the test, with PM Narendra Modi in the mix

Deepening Russia-Iran military ties

The reported missile cooperation comes as Russia and Iran have forged increasingly close strategic and military ties.

Iran has supplied Russia with Shahed attack drones that have become an important part of Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine, while also helping Russia establish domestic production of the drones.

Ukraine and Western officials have separately accused Russia of providing Iran with battlefield assistance during its conflict with the US and Israel, including satellite imagery, drone support and weapons components, the Financial Times reported.

The latest disclosures come as the US and Iran remain locked in a widening military confrontation.

US Central Command said it had completed a wave of strikes against Iranian military targets, including air-defence sites, mine-laying capabilities and communications facilities. CENTCOM said the strikes followed recent “attempted attacks” by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and US service members.

Iran, however, disputed the US account. Its Foreign Ministry spokesperson said American strikes had also hit a wedding celebration in Sirik, leaving more than 50 people injured or killed.

Iran’s IRNA news agency said the IRGC Aerospace Force responded with a major ballistic missile operation targeting the US Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan. It claimed the attack was aimed at facilities housing RQ-4 and MQ-9 drones and resulted in the destruction of several drones as well as the deaths of multiple pilots and flight crew members.

The latest escalation followed US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a fresh wave of strikes on Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said the attacks were carried out in retaliation for what he claimed was an Iranian attempt to lay sea mines in the strategically vital waterway.

Trump warned that any Iranian retaliation against what he called a “very justified attack” would draw an even stronger response from Washington, while also suggesting that a much larger attack against Tehran could still be in store.

Against that backdrop, the reported Russian effort to help Iran develop a new generation of supersonic cruise missiles could add another layer to the rapidly evolving military balance in the region.