Russia secretly helping Iran build advanced supersonic cruise missiles — FT
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin (Photo: Sputnik/Kristina Solovyova/Pool via REUTERS)
Russia has been secretly helping Iran develop advanced supersonic cruise missiles in one of the most significant known transfers of strategic military technology from Moscow to Tehran, The Financial Times reported on September 1.
The outlet stated that the multiyear covert program, codenamed C430L, has enlisted some of Russia’s most experienced missile specialists to help Iran develop a new class of weapon capable of threatening U.S. aircraft carriers and other warships in the middle east.
The Financial Times, citing leaked Russian correspondence, travel records, and analysis of military patents, wrote that the program began in 2023 and continued into the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
The main purpose of C430L is to help Iran to develop a ramjet propulsion system, an engine that allows a cruise missile to sustain flight at several times the speed of sound.
Missile and military experts said the technology was almost certainly intended for anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles.
“This is the transfer of a highly strategically sensitive military technology from Russia that the Iranians have wanted to acquire for decades,” expert on Iranian missiles and senior analyst with Conflict Armament Research Fabian Hinz said. “A program like this would require political clearance from the very top in Russia.”
FT clarified that Supersonic cruise missiles combine speed with the ability to fly at low altitude, shortening the time available for sophisticated air and missile defenses to detect and engage them.
“That is especially relevant for Iran in the Gulf, where the U.S. and its regional allies operate advanced land- and sea-based defense systems,” the article explained.
Iran has built and flight-tested the ramjet propulsion system, although there is no evidence that a Russian-assisted supersonic cruise missile has yet been deployed.
“For the Iranians, this would give them a qualitatively new strategic weapon system that could threaten U.S. Navy vessels,” said Jim Lamson, a former Iran-focused military analyst with the CIA now at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.
The leaked correspondence shows that talks over the program continued in the summer of 2026.
FT stated that the program was arranged by Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state arms exporter, which co-ordinated the project with NPO Mashinostroyenia.
The U.S. sanctioned NPO Mashinostroyenia in 2014, describing it as a major Russian rocketry company responsible for cruise missile systems launched from ships, submarines, and ground platforms, as well as work supporting Russia’s strategic nuclear forces, including intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Leaked travel records reviewed by the FT showed Russian arms exports officials and several senior NPO Mashinostroyenia engineers made repeated trips to Iran before the C430L contract was formally signed.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin expressed support for Iran on September 1, assuring Tehran that Moscow was ready to “provide necessary assistance” and praising the “courage and resilience” of the Iranian people.
The United States and Iran shattered a monthlong lull on August 31 by trading direct military strikes following an escalating standoff over the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran continues to block the strategic waterway while signaling a readiness to honor the June accord – which includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz – if the United States reciprocates.
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