Russian engineers have made multiple visits to Islamic Republic for project making ramjet engine needed to build high-speed anti-ship and land attack weapon, Financial Times reports.
Russia has been helping Iran develop supersonic cruise missiles, an advanced weapon that is harder to defend against than subsonic variants, the Financial Times reported Tuesday. According to the newspaper, the development program began in 2023 and, if successful, would give Tehran a significantly greater ability to attack US aircraft carriers and other vessels in the Middle East. The FT said its investigation was based on Russian correspondence, travel records and military patents, and described the program as “one of the most significant known transfers of strategic military technology from Moscow to Tehran.”
The project, codenamed “C430L,” was organized by Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state arms exporter, and also involved NPO Mashinostroyenia, a rocket design organization that is under US sanctions. Documents show that officials from both organizations traveled multiple times to Iran before the C430L project was formalized in November 2023, the FT reported.
The program continued into 2026, with June correspondence showing discussions on the next stage, though it is not clear if that has begun, the report said. Work was still happening when Iran came under attack from a joint US-Israel campaign this year. The war is still ongoing, though it has become focused on a US-Iran standoff over control of the vital Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has tried to choke off by attacking shipping.
The development program is reportedly focused on a ramjet propulsion system that would allow a cruise missile to fly at multiple times the speed of sound. Military experts assessed that the weapon would most likely be used to hit ships and some land targets. Some of Russia’s top experts in the field were involved in the Iranian program, the FT said, and its engineers analyzed data from an Iranian ramjet engine system. (Read More)
