Financial Times” analysis: Russia is secretly offering Iran assistance to develop hypersonic cruise missiles

An investigation published by the “Financial Times” says that Russia is secretly providing Iran with technical and technological assistance to build hypersonic cruise missiles.

The cooperation is linked to the secret, multiyear C430L program, launched in 2023. Some of the most experienced experts in Russia’s missile industry are involved, while the objective is for Tehran to develop a new generation of weapons capable of threatening U.S. warships and ground targets in the Middle East.

The British newspaper’s report is based on leaked Russian correspondence, travel data and an examination of military patents. According to these materials, one of the project’s main goals is to create a ramjet propulsion system. This technology would allow a cruise missile to travel through the atmosphere at several times the speed of sound.

Weapons experts’ assessments suggest that the system could be used to produce anti-ship missiles as well as missiles for striking ground targets.

“This is Russia’s transfer of a highly strategically sensitive military technology that the Iranians have sought to obtain for decades,” said Fabian Hinz, an expert on Iranian missiles and senior analyst at Conflict Armament Research.

Hinz stressed that a project of this scale would require political approval from the highest levels of Russia’s leadership.

Hypersonic cruise missiles combine high speed with low-altitude flight. As a result, air- and missile-defense systems would have less time to detect and intercept them.

Such a capability would be particularly significant for Iran in the Persian Gulf, where the United States and its allies have deployed naval forces and advanced defense systems.

“For the Iranians, this would mean acquiring a new weapons system of strategic importance that could put U.S. Navy ships at risk,” said Jim Lamson, a former CIA military analyst for Iran and currently a member of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.

Despite this information, there is so far no evidence that Iran has completed the development of a hypersonic cruise missile with Russia’s assistance.

Documents analyzed by the “Financial Times” show that the program was coordinated by Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state arms exporter, in cooperation with NPO Mashinostroyenia, one of Russia’s leading missile manufacturers.

According to travel records, Russian officials and senior engineers from NPO Mashinostroyenia traveled to Iran several times before the official contract was signed with Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics in November 2023.

By 2025, the Russian company had obtained technical materials from Iran related to the missile’s propulsion system. Russian specialists also examined data from an Iranian flight test and sent Tehran detailed questions about the system’s performance.

In April 2025, Rosoboronexport proposed sending a team of Russian specialists to Iran to conduct technical consultations on the C430L program.

Publicly released materials suggest that technical cooperation continued throughout 2026, as the two countries considered the project’s next stages.

The missile project is part of the strengthening of military ties between Moscow and Tehran.

Iran has sent Russia Shahed attack drones, which Russian forces have used extensively in the war in Ukraine. In return, Russia has supported Iran in several areas of military technology.

Ukrainian and Western officials have also accused Moscow of providing Iran with support during its confrontations with the United States and Israel. The alleged assistance has included satellite imagery, drones and military components.

In this context, C430L represents a more advanced form of cooperation, as it aims to provide Iran with the technical knowledge needed to develop sophisticated strategic weapons more independently.

Nicole Graczewski, a professor at Sciences Po in Paris, said the program demonstrates Russia’s effort to expand its military influence beyond the war in Ukraine and challenge U.S. interests in other regions as well.

Over the years, Iran has built a large arsenal of ballistic missiles, while its domestic industry produces engines for cruise missiles that fly at lower speeds.

Tehran also claims to have developed hypersonic weapons. However, building a hypersonic cruise missile powered by a ramjet presents a far more complex technological challenge.

In 2019, an Iranian company linked to the defense industry unveiled a domestically produced ramjet engine at an event attended by Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

In August 2023, the Iranian Tasnim news agency, which is linked to the Revolutionary Guard, announced that Iran had begun testing a prototype hypersonic cruise missile.

If this technology were successfully developed, Iran could create new weapons systems based on the same technological foundation and reduce its dependence on foreign suppliers.

According to documents obtained by the “Financial Times,” the C430L program is expected to continue throughout 2026. Russia and Iran are continuing their technical cooperation and discussing the project’s next steps.

The reports do not indicate that such a missile is currently in operational use. They show that Moscow is helping Tehran overcome one of the most significant technological gaps in its missile program.