Russia has been sending captured US Javelins and Stingers from Ukraine to Iran, which may be able to reverse-engineer the weapons: report

Insider- March 11th 2023

• Russia has been capturing US and NATO-provided Javelins and Stingers on the battlefield in Ukraine.
• It has been sending the captured weapons to Iran, which could reverse-engineer the weapons, per CNN.
• Iran has a track record of reverse-engineering Western arms to create its own versions.

Russia has been sending Western-supplied weapons captured on the battlefields of Ukraine to its ally Iran, which may be able to reverse-engineer the technology, according to CNN.

US, NATO, and other Western officials have observed several instances of Russian forces capturing US-made Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft systems that the Ukrainian army has left behind, CNN reported, citing four sources familiar with the matter.

According to the sources, Russia has flown some of these weapons to Iran, likely so that it can take them apart and analyze the technology in order to create its own versions of the weapons.

Ukraine has received billions of dollars worth of weapons from the West, with the US supplying FGM-148 Javelins and FIM-92 Stingers from its own military stockpile.