Russia was secretly giving technology to Iran to develop supersonic cruise missiles. According to the report of Financial Times (FT), this secret project was started in 2023. Work on it continued even during the US-Israel war against Iran. The codename of this program is C430L. In this, some Russian missile experts were working with Iran. The purpose of the program is to help Iran develop missile technology that can be used against American warships. Iran does not have supersonic cruise missile capability. Supersonic means a speed that exceeds the speed of sound (Mach 1). Supersonic missiles fly at speeds of at least more than 1,200 km/h. Iran has high-speed ballistic and hypersonic missiles. Iran estimates the speed of its Fatah missile to be around Mach 13 to 15, i.e. around 16,000 to 18,500 km/h. Iran has ballistic missiles that can travel several times faster than the speed of sound. But the way ballistic missiles fly is different. It goes up and then comes down at high speed towards its target. Ballistic missiles coming at high altitude can be more easily visible to radar. The defense system gets more time to track it and attack it. A low altitude cruise missile flies close to the land or sea surface. Due to the roundness of the Earth and things like mountains, radar can catch it only when it comes close enough. This is the reason why Iran is making a supersonic speed cruise missile. Work continued for 3 years According to FT, leaked documents show that talks between Russia and Iran regarding the C430L program continued till the summer of 2026. However, it is not yet clear whether Iran has developed a fully ready supersonic cruise missile under this program or when it can be deployed for military use. Purpose of the C430L program: To create a ramjet engine According to the FT’s investigation, the main focus of the program was on the ramjet engine. This is an engine that uses air and fuel to propel a missile flying at high speed. When the missile moves fast, the air coming from the front goes inside the engine. There this air is mixed with fuel and burnt. The force generated from this helps in propelling the missile forward and maintaining its high speed. Ramjet engines are used in high-speed missiles. However, for this to work the missile already needs sufficient speed. Therefore, initially a separate engine or launch system may be required to accelerate the missile. Iran also tested ramjet engine: According to the report, Iran has developed the ramjet engine and has also flight tested it. However, so far no evidence has been found that any supersonic cruise missile developed with the help of Russia has been deployed in the Iranian army. According to former CIA analyst Jim Lamson, such technology could help Iran develop a future weapon system that would pose a threat to US Navy ships. Russia-Iran cooperation extended from drones to missile technology. Iran has already given Shahed drone to Russia. These drones have been used extensively in the Ukraine war. Iran also helped Russia start production of these drones. At the same time, Russia has also provided military equipment and weapons to Iran. This is the first time that instead of just providing weapons, Russia is helping Iran increase its missile manufacturing capacity. This is the reason why the C430L program is being considered an important step in the military cooperation between Russia and Iran. Russia’s state arms company also involved According to the FT, the C430L program was developed by Russia’s state arms export company Rosboronexport. In this project he worked with Russian missile company NPO Mashinostroyenia. The US had imposed sanctions on NPO Mashinostroyenia in 2014. According to American officials, this company works on ship, submarine and ground-launched cruise missiles. This company has also been involved in work related to Russia’s nuclear weapons program. Leaked documents and travel records obtained by the FT show that Russian arms export officials and several senior engineers from NPO Mashinostroyenia made several visits to Iran before the C430L deal was signed.
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