Russia has agreed to sell 90 launchers for guided missiles to Iran. These launchers, which are widely used by the Russian army in the Ukraine war, represent Moscow's military support for Tehran. This agreement comes at a time when Russia itself is facing military challenges and a need for equipment in the Ukraine war.
Details of the Military Agreement
According to reports, the production plan for these launchers pertains to the years 2024 and 2025 and is being carried out by one of the largest defense manufacturers in Russia. The Financial Times has obtained a document identifying the buyer with a specific code name in Russian defense documents, which refers to Iran.
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This previously unreported agreement indicates the strengthening of military relations between the two countries since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Western intelligence officials emphasize that Russia and Iran's cooperation in the Middle East war has increased this year. This comes as former U.S. President Donald Trump recently claimed that Moscow has not taken significant action to assist the Islamic Republic.
Impacts and Consequences
Nikol Grievsky, a military affairs researcher, states that this reflects Russia's willingness to continue arms cooperation with Iran, even as Moscow itself needs military equipment for the Ukraine war. However, currently, Moscow appears to have less concern about Western protests than in the past.
The production document for these launchers has been provided to the Financial Times by Dallas Analytics, a private Ukrainian intelligence organization. This document includes a letter from the Vimpel company, one of Russia's leading missile and launch system designers, requesting the expedited delivery of components related to two types of missile launchers.
APU-L and APU-305 are two types of missile launch systems designed for installation on helicopters. The letter warns that delays in the delivery of components could jeopardize nine contracts. The production plan attached to this letter lists seven Russian customers and two foreign buyers. China is identified as one of the foreign buyers that has ordered 192 APU-305 launchers.
The other foreign buyer, identified only as "K-10," has ordered 90 APU-L launchers. According to internal Russian documents, this code refers to Iran. One of the contracts related to training jet aircraft and light attack Yak-130 aircraft explicitly identifies the buyer as "K-10," meaning Iran.
This document does not specify whether the launchers intended for Iran have ultimately been delivered to the country, but both types of launchers are designed to carry Russia's lightweight multi-purpose guided missiles. These missiles are well capable of targeting moving targets and can be effectively used in ambush and assault operations.
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