Ukraine is developing a new missile modification for the domestic Neptune missile system, Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Havryliuk said in an interview with ArmyInform.

According to him, work is currently underway to create a so-called long-ranged Neptune. “We are talking about a new missile modification for the Neptune complex,” said the Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister.

“We are also actively working with the Ministry of Strategic Industries to strengthen the air defense system. We can’t discuss this in detail now, but I can only say that work is underway to modernize the Buk and S-300 air defense missile systems.

This likely refers to the adaptation of the R-360 missile of the Neptune complex to destroy land targets. Earlier, media sources reported that Ukraine may indeed have a ground-based version of this anti-ship missile in service.

The possible range of such a missile could reach 400 km (versus 300 km for the anti-ship version) and the warhead could weigh 350 kg (versus 150 kg). It is possible that these are not the final specifications of the modified missile.

Neptune’s development seems to be one of the items on the list of “missile weapons and ammunition,” for which Ukraine is to spend UAH 175 billion / $4.65 billion next year.

And, as Havryliuk once again emphasized, “the lion’s share of the financial resource will be used to load the production capacity of the Ukrainian defense industry” – the defense ministry has previously noted that more than UAH 190 billion to be contracted next year is likely to remain with the domestic manufacturer.

During Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Neptune was used for the first time in combat. On April 14, 2022, two missiles struck the Moskva missile cruiser, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy, causing an explosion of ammunition, which sank the cruiser.

In August 2023, according to one version, the missile was first used to strike a ground target to destroy the S-400 system on the Tarkhankut peninsula in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

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