Russian military specialists in missile weapons, anti-aircraft systems, and artillery visited Iran’s military facilities over the past year, likely in preparation for future arms purchases. 

Reuters reported on this after receiving access to the specialists’ data and details of the trip from the anti-government Hooshyaran-e Vatan hacker activist group.

The data revealed that a group of seven high-ranking Russian specialists in missile and artillery weapons traveled from Moscow to Tehran on two separate flights – April 24 and September 17, 2024. 

According to government documents, six of the seven individuals had passport numbers starting with “20,” a designation typically given to Russian civil servants on foreign business trips or military personnel stationed abroad.

Military delegation in Tehran

Among the Russian specialists who traveled in April was 48-year-old Denis Kalko, verified to have worked at the Russian Military Academy of Field Anti-Aircraft Defense until at least 2021. 

Another group member, 46-year-old Vadim Malov, had been employed at a military unit that trains anti-aircraft missile troops. 

The group also included Andrey Gusev, a 45-year-old lieutenant colonel who worked as deputy head of the general-purpose rocket and artillery ammunition department at the Penza Artillery Engineering Institute of the Ministry of Defense of Russia.

Other group members, 43-year-old Alexander Antonov, worked in the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defense, and 54-year-old Marat Khusainov worked at the Kapustin Yar missile test range.

In September, Sergey Yurchenko and Oleg Fedosov, who also worked in the Missle and Artillery Directorate, joined the delegation. Fedosov’s records indicate he works at the Department of Advanced Inter-Service Research and Special Projects within the Russian Ministry of Defense, a division responsible for developing advanced weapon systems.

According to verification through available databases, at least four individuals mentioned have high military ranks: two are colonels, and two are lieutenant colonels.

Russian military objectives

A senior Iranian Defense Ministry official told Reuters that Russian experts visited Iranian missile production facilities more than once last year, including two underground facilities. At least one delegation visited the facilities in September.

According to another source, Russian experts visited an Iranian missile base 15 kilometers west of the port of Amirabad in September last year.

All this, together with the specifics of the Russian delegates’ activities, may indicate that they are studying the capabilities of Iranian weapons models and their production before concluding procurement contracts.

Media reports from 2024 suggested that Iran was set to supply Russia with short-range ballistic missile launchers, including the Fateh-360. However, Reuters states that these weapons were never transferred at that time.