Ukraine modifies missile for Neptune complex

Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk said this in an interview with ArmyInform.

"Work is underway to create a so-called long Neptune. It is a new modification of the missile for the Neptune complex," he said.

"We are also actively working together with the Ministry of Strategic Industries to strengthen the air defense system," the military added.

According to him, work is underway to modernize the Buk and S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems. However, he refused to disclose details.

At the same time, Havryliuk noted that President Zelenskyy expects to increase the capacity of the defense industry to produce various categories of weapons, military equipment, missiles and ammunition, scale up production and maximize the localization of production in Ukraine of samples and military equipment required by the Armed Forces. This process will involve not only state-owned enterprises, but also private enterprises, including those that produce dual-use goods.

The RK-360MC Neptune coastal missile system with the R-360 missile was adopted by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 2020. The Neptune missile, designed to destroy ships with a displacement of up to 5,000 tons, had a range of up to 280 km and a warhead weighing 150 kg. It has a subsonic speed (900 km/h) and flies at ultra-low altitudes (several meters above sea level) and can maneuver during flight. In September, aviation expert and leading researcher at the National Aviation University Valeriy Romanenko, citing a source in the Defense Ministry, told Espreso that the range of the Neptune missile had been increased from 300 km to 400 km, and the weight of the warhead had been increased from 150 to 350 kg.

• On April 13, 2022, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the cruiser Moskva, was hit by Ukrainian missiles from the Neptune system. On the evening of April 14, it became known that the cruiser had sunk. On April 16, the Pentagon confirmed that Neptune missiles had hit the Russian warship Moskva before it sank.