Russia agrees to supply Iran with 90 missile launchers, Financial Times reports

A helicopter launcher order for Iran

Russia has agreed to supply Iran with 90 launchers for advanced guided missiles, the type its forces use widely in Ukraine, according to documents the Financial Times obtained. The launchers are APU-L models designed to be mounted on helicopters. The order appears in a production schedule for 2024 and 2025 belonging to a large Russian defence manufacturer, and the buyer is recorded only under the code name 'K-10'.

Rosoboronexport, Russia's state arms exporter, uses 'K-10' for Iran, according to a source acquainted with exports and internal Russian papers the FT reviewed. A Yak-130 contract seen by the FT spells the buyer out in full as 'K-10, Iran'. A 2023 production plan from a subsidiary of the Rostec state defence group lists six Yak-130 aircraft for the same buyer, two due in the first half of that year and four in the second.

How the order surfaced

The document reached the FT from Dallas Analytics, a private Ukrainian intelligence organisation. It was sent in a May 2024 letter from Vympel, a Russian designer of missiles and launch systems. In that letter Vympel pressed KBM, another Russian defence bureau, to bring forward parts for the APU-L and APU-305 launchers, warning that late deliveries could endanger nine contracts.

Wider order book

The production schedule lists seven Russian customers and two foreign buyers. China is one of the foreign buyers, with an order for 192 APU-305 launchers. The other foreign buyer, the one coded K-10, ordered 90 APU-L launchers, so the Iranian order concerns a different launcher type from the Chinese one.

Iran (K-10), APU-L90

China, APU-305192

Iran (K-10), APU-L

90 launchers

China, APU-305

192 launchers

Data from the article text

Capabilities and tactics

The APU-L is designed for Mi-28 attack helicopters and can carry two LMUR guided missiles, while the APU-305 carries one. LMUR, also known as Izdeliye 305, entered Russian army service in 2022 and is used heavily against Ukrainian targets. A representative of Dallas Analytics said the missile flies at about 230 metres per second and covers 14 kilometres in roughly a minute. The operator can steer it during flight, which lets it hit small or moving targets. The tactic described is to fly into a firing position, launch, and withdraw before an adversary can respond effectively.

Western assessment and Trump's claims

Western intelligence officials say Russia and Iran have deepened their partnership during the 2026 war in the Middle East. That assessment contrasts with claims by US President Donald Trump that Moscow was doing 'very little, if anything' to help the Islamic republic. Earlier FT reporting said Moscow had helped Iran develop supersonic cruise missiles, supplied it Verba shoulder-launched anti-air missiles and held talks with Tehran on nuclear-relevant information. Nicole Grajewski, a non-resident Carnegie Endowment for International Peace scholar, said:

“It is indicative of Russia's willingness to continue supplying Iran despite its own wartime demands and with far less concern about western objections than in the past.”

The order was reported as coming despite strains on Russia's war effort in Ukraine, and both Russia and Iran are under Western sanctions.