December 25, 2023: Ukraine is developing a longer-range  version of its ground-launched Neptune cruise missile. The current Neptune has been frequently used to attack targets deep inside Russian occupied territory, or ships at sea and in harbor in the Black Sea.

The new version is called Long Neptune and is literally a longer version of the current 5.05-meter (nearly 17 foot), 895 kg (nearly a ton) Neptune missile with a 159 kg warhead and max range of 250 kilometers. The United States did the same thing with their similar Harpoon missile. Long Neptune will have a range of about 360 kilometers.

Long Neptune also requires some modifications to the original Neptune’s’ truck-mounted launcher. All these modifications are not the first for Neptune. That’s because the missile is a Ukrainian modification of the Russian Kh-35 anti-ship missile, which had a guidance system that homed in on radars. This was great for anti-ship missiles but not very useful for a missile that would be used against land as well as naval targets. Neptune first attracted attention when two of them sank the Russian destroyer Moskva in early 2022. Moskva was the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, and its loss was embarrassing for Russia because Moskva had defenses against missile attacks but apparently failed to turn them on or use them properly.

Neptune, like many other anti-ship cruise missiles, also has ground-attack capability that relies on its GPS-navigation feature. This is in addition to the radar seeker used for attacking ships. A ship on open waters presents a clear target for the radar seeking a ship. Ground targets are different because there are hills, trees, buildings, and other obstacles. By adding GPS guidance Neptune can also find and destroy ground targets. Neptune demonstrated its land-attack capability in mid-2022 when several missiles were used to attack land targets, mainly anti-aircraft systems in some parts of Crimea. Long Neptune has enough range to hit targets throughout Crimea.

Ukraine has long developed and manufactured its own weapons. This is a capability Ukraine had during the decades it was part of the Soviet Union. For the Soviets, Ukraine was always a center for developing and manufacturing all sorts of advanced equipment, including weapons. After 1991, with the Soviet Union gone, independent Ukraine continued to manufacture equipment and weapons the post-Soviet Russia needed. Eventually, about two decades ago, Russia got a new leader, Vladimir Putin, who believed that reconstituting the Russian empire, which is what the Soviet Union was. Effective Ukrainian resistance to this plan has been a major problem for Putin and his goal of creating a “Greater Russia”. New Ukrainian weapons like Long Neptune are an example of this deadly Ukrainian resourcefulness.