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Archive photo · 17 August 2023Russia Agrees to Supply Iran 90 Helicopter-Mounted Missile Launchers Under Export Contract
2 Asian2 Western Alternative2 Western Mainstream4 Other source typesPhoto: Mil.ru / UK Government and Number 10, CC BY 4.0 · Cropped for layout
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Russia will supply Iran with 90 helicopter-mounted missile launchers under an export contract. The deal is reported by the Financial Times citing Russian defense industry documents.
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Launcher Deal Emerges
Russia agreed to supply Iran with 90 helicopter-mounted launchers for precision-guided missiles under an export contract, a Financial Times report said and the Guardian described as based on leaked defence industry documents. The documents, which the Guardian said were obtained by Dallas Analytics, a Ukrainian private intelligence firm, included a production schedule drawn up in May 2024 by Vympel listing an order for 90 launchers under an export contract designated "K-10".
The records do not establish whether the launchers were ultimately delivered, while the Times of India said it remained unclear whether the 90 launchers intended for Iran were actually delivered. The launchers were described as mounted on Russian Mi-28 attack helicopters and designed to carry LMURs, also known as Izdeliye 305, which the Al-Monitor report said can strike moving targets at a distance of up to 14 kilometers (8.7 miles).
Codes, Components, and Delivery
Separate internal paperwork explicitly identified K-10 as Iran, and the Kyiv Post said the codename "K-10" is used by Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport for Iran.
The Kyiv Post said the deal involved 90 helicopter-mounted launchers for precision-guided missiles and that the Financial Times revealed the agreement on Thursday, Nov. 5, citing internal documents from Vympel obtained by Dallas Analytics.
A May 2024 letter from Vympel to defence bureau KBM urged faster deliveries of components and warned that delays could jeopardise nine contracts.
The Al-Monitor report said the documents included a production schedule covering 2024 and 2025 and listed an export order for 90 APU-L missile launchers for a buyer identified as “K-10,” while also listing an order for 192 APU-305 launchers for China.
Broader Ties and Constraints
The launcher deal added to a pattern of military cooperation between Moscow and Tehran since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when Tehran became a crucial supplier of Shahed attack drones that Russia has since begun manufacturing domestically. The US State Department sanctioned two individuals and an entity based in Belarus, Russia, and Nigeria for their involvement in Iran's efforts to procure man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS) as part of Operation Economic Outcast.
A day later the Financial Times reported Russia signed a weapons deal with Iran to supply the regime with 90 advanced guided missile launchers, and Dallas Analytics described the missile as "At around 230 meters per second, it covers 14km in about a minute." Russia also faced constraints on its ability to supply Iran with weapons because much of its military production was already stretched by the demands of the war in Ukraine, and it cited a May 2024 Vympel warning that delays in the supply of essential components threatened the assembly of missile launchers.