Russia provided Iran with secret assistance in developing advanced hypersonic cruise missiles, marking what could be one of the most significant known transfers of strategic military technology from Moscow to Tehran.

According to a Financial Times investigation, the classified program, reportedly codenamed C430L, began in 2023 and continued until the Israel-US war with Iran. The investigation was based on leaked Russian correspondence, travel records and military patents.

The project reportedly involved some of Russia’s most experienced missile specialists, who helped Iran develop a new class of weapons potentially capable of threatening US aircraft carriers and other military vessels in the Middle East.

A key objective of the program was reportedly the development of a ramjet engine that could enable a cruise missile to maintain speeds several times faster than the speed of sound.

Experts cited by the FT believe the technology was almost certainly intended for anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles.

The scale and sensitivity of the reported cooperation suggest that the program would have required high-level political approval in Russia.