Afət Ziyadqızı
Documents obtained by the Ukrainian private intelligence company Dallas Analytics outline a Russian plan to supply Iran with launchers for LMUR guided missiles, which are fired from attack helicopters. Russian forces have frequently used the missiles in Ukraine since launching their invasion in 2022.
Operative Information Center-OMM reports, citing The Guardian, that Vympel, one of Russia’s leading designers of missiles and launch systems, included an order for 90 launchers under an export contract coded “K-10” in a production schedule prepared in May 2024.
Deliveries were planned between late 2024 and December 2025. Internal documents explicitly identify Iran as the country associated with the code “K-10.”
Although the documents do not confirm whether the launchers were ultimately delivered, a separate production schedule for six Yak-130 training aircraft prepared for shipment to Iran in 2023 matches publicly disclosed information about the delivery of those aircraft.
The leaked documents have revealed new details about military cooperation between Russia and Iran as the administration in Washington reviews its policies on Iran following the U.S. midterm elections. Observers say the prolonged conflict involving Iran gives Moscow strategic and economic advantages. Disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf have pushed up global oil prices, generating additional revenue for the Kremlin. Fighting in the region has also diverted international attention and Western military resources from Ukraine.
Notably, U.S. President Donald Trump has said Moscow has done little to help Tehran, but those remarks conflict with European intelligence assessments. According to intelligence, Russia has provided Iran with key intelligence and satellite imagery that could help it target U.S. forces in the Middle East, and is preparing to supply drones loaded with explosives.
Russia and Iran signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2025 that includes provisions on countering common threats. However, because much of Russia’s military production is constrained by the demands of the war in Ukraine, Moscow faces some difficulties supplying weapons to Iran. Internal correspondence at Vympel has also warned that shortages of components could put state defense orders at risk.
