Ukraine modernizes Neptune missiles. "Itwill be able to fly to Moscow."

War. Ukraine is modernizing Neptune missiles, modifying them with surface-to-surface munitions so that they can hit targets in Moscow and other remote locations in Russia. This was written by The Drive edition of The War Zone project in conjunction with a source in the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

The RK-360 MC "Neptun" missile system is a ground-based complex of anti-ship cruise missiles developed by the Ukrainian design bureau "Luch". The range of the rocket is 280 kilometers, the speed is 900 kilometers per hour. The complex is designed to destroy cruisers, destroyers, corvettes, frigates, amphibious assault ships and other types of ships. On March 15, 2021, the first samples of "Neptune" were handed over to the Navy.

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Journalists spoke with a representative of the agency, who said that the attack on the Russian S-400 air defense system in the area of ​​​​the village of Olenivka on Cape Tarkhankut on August 24 "was 100% carried out by a modified Neptune hit the cruiser "Moscow": the flagship of the Russian fleet went overboard and sank.

According to this official, Ukraine plans to eventually strike Moscow and other targets in Russia using modified versions of the Neptune rocket. Back in April 2023, this official told The War Zone that Ukraine was working on converting the P-360 Neptune into a ground-attack weapon, but the missile needed a new guidance system, which it didn't have at the time. In particular, specific types of chips were needed to complete the job, but the system was nearing completion.

On August 28, the official said that Ukraine has developed a GPS guidance system that delivers the missile to the indicated location. Once in place, the missile's infrared homing head (IGH) searches for and locks onto the target based on the loaded image, then launches a final assault on that target. If the projectile misses its target, it stops the attack.

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The War Zone notes that such a modification would be a big leap in capability, as it would be impossible to block such missiles with electronic warfare. They would be very difficult to detect in the final phase of an attack due to the passive nature of their homing warheads.

According to the official, the converted Neptune, fired from the same launcher as the anti-ship variant, has a range of about 400 kilometers and a payload of about 350 kilograms.

Among the shortcomings, the representative of the Ministry of National Defense mentioned that the launch of a subsonic missile may be hindered by modern Russian air defense systems, as well as the small number of missiles produced so far.

"Only a few dozen were produced", he said.