Moscow has been covertly helping Tehran develop supersonic cruise missiles capable of striking US aircraft carriers, in what analysts call one of the most significant transfers of strategic military technology between the two countries, the Financial Times reported.
The multiyear effort, codenamed C430L, drew on some of Russia's most experienced missile engineers to help Iran master ramjet propulsion — technology that lets a cruise missile sustain flight at several times the speed of sound. The FT investigation, based on leaked correspondence, travel records and patent filings, found the program began in 2023 and continued through the US-Israeli war against Iran into 2026.
Fabian Hinz, a senior analyst at Conflict Armament Research, called it the transfer of "highly strategically sensitive military technology" that Iran had sought for decades, adding that a program of this scale would have needed clearance from the top of the Russian government.
Supersonic, low-flying cruise missiles are especially hard for air-defense systems to intercept, a serious concern for the US and its allies in the Gulf. Iran has already built and flight-tested a ramjet engine, though there's no evidence a Russian-assisted missile has been deployed yet.
The program was coordinated by Rosoboronexport, Russia's state arms exporter, and NPO Mashinostroyenia, a rocketry firm the US sanctioned in 2014 over its role in cruise missile and strategic nuclear systems. Leaked records show senior NPO engineers made repeated trips to Iran before a formal contract was signed with Iran's defense ministry in November 2023. By 2025, the Russian side had received a large batch of Iranian technical data and was sending Tehran detailed questions about a flight test, including why telemetry had cut off less than a minute in.
Named engineers involved include Alexander Dergachev, the firm's chief designer for sea-launched missiles; Alexander Chebakov, a specialist in supersonic ramjet propulsion and patent holder on related technology; and Yuri Prokhorchuk, head of aerodynamics and ballistics, who holds a patent on a ramjet-powered hypersonic anti-ship missile. None responded to FT questions, nor did the Kremlin, Rosoboronexport or NPO Mashinostroyenia. Iran's government did not respond either.
The collaboration builds on a deepening military partnership: Iran has supplied Russia with Shahed drones used in Ukraine, while Russia has reportedly given Iran satellite imagery and drone support. Nicole Grajewski of Sciences Po said the ramjet program shows Russia "trying to broaden the Ukraine war and draw the US into different theatres."
Iran has pursued supersonic missile technology since at least 2016, including a failed attempt to procure Soviet-era missile parts in Ukraine in 2018. Jim Lamson, a former CIA Iran analyst, said that if Russia helps Iran solve its remaining technical problems, it "would be one of the more impactful areas of Russian military-technical assistance to Iran in recent years."
Photo: Press Tv, FT