Romania and Ukraine collaborate on upgrading Neptune anti-ship missiles

Romania plans to develop weapons in collaboration with Ukraine, focusing specifically on the R-360 Neptune anti-ship missiles, News.Az reports citing Army Recognition.

Ukraine's defense industry has been working on upgrading the R-360 Neptune missiles since April 2023, although the final results of these efforts remain uncertain. The Romanian-Ukrainian military-industrial partnership is set to expand after the war.

Unlike French SCALP-EG missiles, which are launched from the air, Neptune missiles are launched from land and can target both ground and naval threats at distances up to 400 kilometers (about 250 miles). This capability gives them a strategic role in the conflict. The missiles have been used since the beginning of the war, notably to destroy the Russian cruiser Moskva in 2022. They have the potential to compete with American ATACMS missiles, the only weapon with a similar range that Ukraine currently uses.

According to Army Recognition, Bucharest hopes that at least part of Ukraine's Black Sea coastline will remain under Ukrainian control.

The Neptune missile is a supersonic cruise missile developed by the Ukrainian company KB Luch. It was first introduced at the Arms and Security international exhibition in Kyiv in 2015 and entered service with the Ukrainian Navy in 2021. The missile weighs 870 kg (about 1,918 lbs) and is 5.05 meters (about 16.6 feet) long. It is designed to strike ships with a displacement of up to 9,000 tons and has a range of over 200 kilometers (about 124 miles), capable of hitting both sea and land targets in a land-based variant. The missile is equipped with a Motor Sich MS400 turbofan engine and advanced guidance and electronic systems.

News.Az