Russia has been assisting Iran to develop ramjet engines for supersonic cruise missiles since 2023 through a covert program organized by Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport and carried out by missile manufacturer NPO Mashinostroyenia. Officials from the Russian companies traveled to Iran in 2023 in advance of signing a contract with Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) in November of that year.

Correspondence obtained by the Financial Times in April 2025 showed that the two sides were exchanging technical information about Iranian flight tests and that Rosoboronexport proposed sending additional specialists to Iran. Additional correspondence from June 2026 indicated that Rosoboronexport and MODAFL were planning further discussions on technical reports prepared by the Russian side. Ramjet engines can enable cruise missiles to fly approximately four times faster than turbojet-powered missiles and could be used for either anti-ship or land-attack cruise missile systems. Iran does not currently possess ramjet technology but declared its intention to develop it in 2016.