Russia has reportedly been secretly helping Iran develop advanced supersonic cruise missiles under a covert programme codenamed ‘C430L’.
The Financial Times based its findings on leaked Russian correspondence, analysis of travel records and military patents. The multiyear programme, which began in 2023, involves Moscow helping Tehran develop a ramjet propulsion system, which is an engine that allows a cruise missile to sustain flight at several times the speed of sound, the Financial Times reported. The report said the C430L programme, which started in 2023, continued into the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Missile and military experts said the technology was almost certainly intended for anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles. However, the report said that while Iran has successfully tested the ramjet propulsion system, there is no evidence that a Russian-assisted supersonic cruise missile has been used in the ongoing war so far. “This is the transfer of a highly strategically sensitive military technology from Russia that the Iranians have wanted to acquire for decades,” said Fabian Hinz, an expert on Iranian missiles and senior analyst with Conflict Armament Research, a UK-based weapons-tracing organisation, according to FT. “A programme like this would require political clearance from the very top in Russia,” he added.
