Russia secretly helping Iran develop supersonic anti-ship missile technology - FT
Russia has secretly helped Iran develop technology for supersonic cruise missiles that could potentially threaten U.S. aircraft carriers and other warships in the Middle East, the Financial Times reported.
The cooperation is part of a secret program codenamed C430L that began in 2023 and has continued during the ongoing conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel, according to an FT investigation based on leaked Russian correspondence, travel records and an analysis of military patents.
The newspaper described the program as one of the most significant known transfers of strategic military technology from Moscow to Tehran.
Its main goal is to help Iran develop a ramjet engine capable of allowing a cruise missile to sustain speeds several times the speed of sound. Missile and military experts told the FT that the technology was almost certainly intended for anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles.
Supersonic cruise missiles combine high speed with low-altitude flight, reducing the time available for air and missile defense systems to detect and intercept them.
Iran has sought access to such Russian technology for decades, according to Fabian Ginz, an expert on Iranian missiles and senior analyst at Conflict Armament Research.
“This is a transfer by Russia of strategically important military technology that the Iranians have sought to obtain for decades,” Ginz told the FT, adding that a program of this kind would require approval from Russia's top political leadership.
Secret cooperation since 2023
The program was organized by Rosoboronexport, Russia's state-owned arms exporter, in coordination with Russian missile developer NPO Mashinostroyenia.
Travel records obtained by the FT showed that Russian arms export officials and senior missile engineers made several trips to Iran before the C430L contract was formally signed in 2023.
Leaked correspondence also showed Russian engineers analyzing a system already developed and tested by Iran, identifying problems and using their expertise to improve its design.
Russia proposed sending a delegation of around 20 specialists to Iran in 2025 for technical consultations under the program, according to the FT.
Negotiations over C430L were still continuing this summer, the leaked correspondence showed.
Iran has developed and flight-tested a ramjet engine, but there is no evidence that a cruise missile developed with Russian assistance has been deployed.
“For the Iranians, this would provide a qualitatively new strategic weapons system capable of threatening U.S. Navy ships,” former CIA military analyst Jim Lamson told the FT.