Romania has announced plans to jointly develop R-360 Neptune anti-ship missiles with Ukraine, aiming to enhance control over Black Sea waters in the post-war period, according to Army Recognition. This collaboration follows the example of other European countries engaging in armaments development with Ukraine.
The R-360 Neptune, developed by Ukraine’s Luch Design Bureau, is a subsonic ground-launched cruise missile capable of targeting both land and sea objectives with a range of up to 400 kilometers. It entered service with the Ukrainian Navy in 2021 and has been used effectively in the ongoing conflict, notably in the attack on the Russian cruiser Moskva in 2022, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
The Neptune missile system includes mobile launchers, transport/reload vehicles, command and control vehicles, and special transport trucks. It is designed to operate up to 25 kilometers inland from the coast and can target naval vessels with a displacement of up to 9,000 tons.
Ukraine is currently working on extending the missile’s range to 1,000 kilometers and increasing production.
In March, the Ukrainian military reported that it disabled the large landing ship Kostiantyn Olshanskyi, originally stolen by Russia from Ukraine in 2014, with a Neptune missile in Russian-occupied Crimea.
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