Russia secretly bolstered Iran's missile arsenal before war with US, records uncover
Russia played a larger role in the Iran war than previously disclosed, with internal defense industry documents revealing how Moscow built up the country's arsenal ahead of its conflict with...
By Fox News · Fox News
Russia played a larger role in the Iran war than previously disclosed, with internal defense industry documents revealing how Moscow built up the country's arsenal ahead of its conflict with the U.S. A Russian contract is tied to 90 launchers for precision-guided missiles with the destination as Tehran, according to documents obtained and published by Ukrainian defense intelligence research group Dallas Analytics offering new details on the extent of Moscow's military support for Iran before war erupted. President Donald Trump has repeatedly downplayed Russia's role in the conflict — as recently as last month, saying that he did not believe they are helping Iran "at all." IRAN TAPS FINANCIAL LIFELINE, RUSSIAN ARMS AS TRUMP ESCALATES 'CRUSHING' ECONOMIC WARFARE Russian production records show components were allocated for 90 APU-L twin-rail launchers under a contract identified as "K-10," with shipments within the Russian production chain scheduled from late 2024 through December 2025. Other internal Russian documents obtained by Dallas Analytics explicitly identify "K-10" as Iran. An October 2022 supply request for equipment for a Yak-130 aircraft lists the consignee as "'K10' Iran" and was countersigned by the acting head of the Russian Defense Ministry's 704th Military Representation. The K-10 designation can also be traced to Russian military hardware that ultimately reached Iran. An internal Russian production schedule listed six Yak-130 aircraft for a consignee identified as K-10. Iranian state media later showed the aircraft entering service in September 2023, and Dallas Analytics said the tail number of one Iranian Yak-130 matched the number listed for K-10 in the Russian factory records. The APU-L launchers are designed to carry Russia's LMUR, a precision-guided missile also known as Product 305 or the Kh-39. The roughly 230-pound missile carries a 55-pound warhead and can be guided in flight by an operator using an e…