The Ukrainian Navy has taken delivery of the first production prototypes of the Neptune coastal anti-ship missile system that is poised to improve Ukraine’s capabilities in protecting its shores on the Azov and Black Seas.
Transferred to the navy by the Kyiv-based Luch State Design Bureau, the systems are already considered to be “combat ready,” the Ukrainian defense ministry said in an earlier statement.
Ukraine placed an order for one Neptune 360ST battery with Luch in late 2020 after the system passed state state trials in August 2020.
Neptune is a land-based missile system that can target cruisers, destroyers and frigates with anti-ship rockets at ranges of up to 300 kilometers. The systems consists of a mobile command post and separate USPU-360 RK-360 rocket launchers mounted on an 8×8 chassis. Each launcher can carry four RK-360 rockets.
“Thanks to the joint work of the Defense Ministry and state-owned enterprises, it was possible to manufacture weapons of a new generation, and increase the deterrent potential and increase Ukraine’s influence at sea. Our goal now will be to include the Neptune system, missile and patrol boats, as well as corvettes into a single defense system that can repel the enemy from the sea,” Ukrainian defense minister Andriy Taran said at the hand-over ceremony on March 15.
