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Russia Secretly Supplied Iran With 90 Missile Launchers Ahead of War, Leaked Defence Documents Reveal
Russia Secretly Supplied Iran With 90 Missile Launchers Ahead of War, Leaked Defence Documents Reveal
Fresh revelations from leaked Russian defence industry documents have exposed the extent of Moscow’s military support for Iran ahead of its conflict with the United States, suggesting that Russia played a far more significant role in strengthening Tehran’s military capabilities than previously acknowledged.
The documents, obtained and published by Ukrainian defence intelligence research group Dallas Analytics, reveal that Russia had a contract linked to the production and supply of 90 precision-guided missile launchers destined for Tehran, raising fresh questions about Moscow’s involvement in Iran’s military preparedness before hostilities erupted.
According to the leaked records, Russian production facilities allocated components for 90 APU-L twin-rail launchers under a contract bearing the designation K-10. The production and shipment schedule reportedly ran from late 2024 through December 2025.
Further examination of internal Russian defence records reportedly established that K-10 was a coded designation for Iran.
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An October 2022 Russian military supply request for equipment intended for a Yak-130 aircraft explicitly identified the consignee as K-10 Iran. The document was also countersigned by the acting head of the Russian Defence Ministry’s 704th Military Representation, providing another indication of an established military supply relationship between both countries.
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Additional evidence emerged from Russian production schedules listing six Yak-130 military aircraft for a recipient identified as K-10. Iranian state media subsequently announced the entry of Yak-130 aircraft into the country’s military service in September 2023.
Dallas Analytics reportedly strengthened the connection by identifying a matching tail number between one of the aircraft showcased by Iranian state media and the corresponding aircraft listed in Russian factory production records.
The revelations have further drawn attention to the military significance of the APU-L launchers, which are designed to carry Russia’s LMUR precision-guided missile, also known as Product 305 or Kh-39.
The missile, weighing approximately 230 pounds, carries a 55-pound warhead and features an advanced guidance system that allows an operator to control its trajectory during flight through an electro-optical seeker and a two-way radio communication link.
The system provides precision-strike capabilities, potentially enhancing Iran’s ability to engage designated military targets with greater accuracy.
The revelations also raise questions about repeated public assertions by United States President Donald Trump, who has consistently played down Russia’s involvement in supporting Iran during the conflict.
As recently as October 2026, Trump reportedly dismissed suggestions of Russian military assistance to Tehran, insisting that he did not believe Moscow was helping Iran at all.
However, the newly disclosed documents present a different picture, pointing to a pattern of military-industrial cooperation between Moscow and Tehran that reportedly dates back several years before the outbreak of hostilities.
Although the leaked production records do not independently establish when or whether all 90 launchers were ultimately delivered, their contents provide significant new evidence of the scale and sophistication of Russia’s reported military assistance to Iran.
The emerging revelations could further complicate the geopolitical calculations surrounding the conflict, particularly as Washington continues to scrutinise Moscow’s relationship with Tehran and the extent to which Russian military technology may be strengthening Iran’s battlefield capabilities.
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