The attack on the Russian S-400 air defense system near the village of Olenevka in Crimea was “100% carried out by a modified Neptune,” sources claim.
Ukraine is improving its own Neptune cruise missiles so that they can eventually fly to Moscow and other regions of Russia. This was reported yesterday by The Drive, citing sources in the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.
It is alleged that the attack on the Russian S-400 air defense system in the area of the village of Olenevka on Cape Tarkhankut on August 23 was “100 percent carried out by a modified Neptune.”
The publication points out that back in April 2023, the Ministry of Defense reported that Ukraine was working on converting the P-360 Neptune into a ground-based weapon, but this required a new guidance system, which did not yet exist at that time.
And on August 28, a department spokesman said that Ukraine had developed a GPS guidance system that guides a missile to a predetermined location. The missile's infrared homing head searches for a target and locks onto it using a preloaded image, then attacks it. If the missile cannot hit the target, it stops attacking.
The War Zone notes that such a modification would be a big leap in capabilities, since the missiles could not be jammed using electronic warfare.
The converted Neptune, which is launched from the same launcher as the anti-ship variant, has a range of about 400 km and a payload of about 350 kg, according to a Defense Ministry spokesman.
Among the shortcomings, the official cited the fact that the launch of a subsonic missile can be prevented by modern Russian air defense systems, as well as the currently small number of such missiles.
“Only a couple of dozen have been produced,” a Defense Ministry spokesman said.
