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Russia Secretly Aiding Iran in Supersonic Cruise Missile Development

evening · · thread: US and Iran Pause Military Strikes Amid Continued Drone Attacks on Saudi Oil Sites

7 sources across 4 countries · Israel · Latvia · Italy · Spain

Who reported this

  • Haaretz Israel · Left · Schocken family and M. DuMont Schauberg
  • The Times of Israel Israel · Centre · Seth Klarman (majority backer)
  • The Jerusalem Post Israel · Centre-right · Mirkaei Tikshoret (Eli Azur)
  • Meduza Latvia · Centre-left · Crowdfunded; exiled Russian newsroom
  • Novaya Gazeta Europe Latvia · Centre-left · Crowdfunded; exiled Russian newsroom
  • Corriere della Sera Italy · Centre-right · RCS MediaGroup (Cairo Communication)
  • El Pais Spain · Centre-left · Grupo PRISA

What the colours mean

  • Left
  • Centre-left
  • Centre
  • Centre-right
  • Right
  • A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.

Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.

Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.

The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.

Russia has been secretly assisting Iran in the development of advanced supersonic cruise missiles since 2023 under a program codenamed C430L, according to an investigation by the Financial Times. The program focuses on helping Iran develop a ramjet engine capable of sustaining flight at several times the speed of sound. This technology is intended for anti ship missiles and weapons capable of striking ground targets. The project was coordinated by the Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport and the US sanctioned NPO Mashinostroyeniya. Russian engineers specializing in aerodynamics, ballistics, and propulsion traveled to Iran repeatedly to provide technical expertise and analyze Iranian test results. While Iran has reportedly built the ramjet engine and conducted flight tests, it remains unclear if the missiles have entered active service. The collaboration exists within a broader strategic partnership where Iran has supplied Shahed drones for use in Ukraine and Russia has provided intelligence, radar technology, and anti aircraft systems. During a recent meeting at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, Vladimir Putin affirmed Russia's solidarity with Iran and its commitment to providing necessary assistance despite US sanctions. Some reports note that the C430L program was already underway when Putin threatened in June 2024 to supply similar weapons to regions where strikes are carried out on sensitive facilities of countries targeting Russia.

How each side framed it

Left
This outlet framed the event as part of a reciprocal exchange of military assets, highlighting the role of Iranian drones in Ukraine.
Centre-left
These outlets focused on the strategic sensitivity of the technology transfer and the potential for it to be a response to Western weapons used against Russia.
Centre
This outlet provided a concise summary of the core technical goals of the program.
Centre-right
One outlet specifically highlighted how these missiles could force US aircraft carriers to stay further away from enemy coasts.

Sources

100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.