Ukraine has unveiled what appears to be the latest variant of its homemade Neptune cruise missile, a powerful, long-range weapon that has been used to strike high-profile Russian military targets.
Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine’s defense minister, released a new image of the missile on display for a group of European and NATO officials on Tuesday as part of an effort to showcase Kyiv’s booming defense industry to its Western security partners.
The image is the latest to surface of the Neptune missile, which has been shrouded in relative secrecy throughout the war. The Ukrainian military rarely discloses its use in strikes, but occasional photos and comments from officials outline how the munition has undergone substantial modifications since it first saw action in 2022.
The latest variant of the Neptune has previously unseen bulges on its sides, which some missile experts assess are added fuel tanks to boost the weapon’s reach. Ukraine has not disclosed its range.
It’s unclear whether this Neptune variant has been used in combat, but Tuesday’s reveal underscores how Ukraine continues to invest heavily in the development of its long-range strike capabilities.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal via X
“We showcased ready-made solutions that strike the enemy both on the front lines” and inside Russia, Shmyhal said of the visit by foreign officials as Ukraine looks to boost weapons production abroad.
“Drones, ammunition, missiles, robots, artillery, and armored vehicles — this is what we are producing now and what we are ready to produce jointly with partners,” he wrote on social media.
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From striking warships to factories
The R-360 Neptune is a subsonic cruise missile made by Ukrainian weapons manufacturer Luch Design Bureau. It can be launched by a truck and was initially designed as an anti-ship missile based on the Soviet-era Kh-35.
The original Neptune had a range of nearly 200 miles with a warhead of 330 pounds. However, it has received upgrades and modifications during the war, including the ability to strike land targets, making it a far more dynamic weapon.
Ukrainian officials said last year that the missile was being modified with longer ranges, and that serial production had expanded, too. In March, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the “Long Neptune” — with a range of 1,000 kilometers, or 620 miles — had already been tested and used in combat.
General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The state-run Zbroya weapons portal published footage of the Long Neptune — longer and bigger than the original missile variant, with an estimated 575-pound warhead — for the first time in August.
Ukraine has used its Neptune missiles to strike a range of Russian targets, including the Black Sea Fleet flagship, air defense batteries, oil facilities, and other military assets. According to local media reports, Kyiv disclosed earlier on Tuesday that the missiles have been used in more than 50 strikes over the past year, including one on a factory just last week.
“We have repeatedly and successfully used Neptunes — our cruise missiles — and the time will come when we can begin regularly employing our own ballistic missiles,” Zelenskyy said on Monday during a speech at the International Defense Industries Forum.
Ukraine has invested heavily in the development and production of long-range missiles and drones since the war began. The homemade weapons have allowed Kyiv to strike deep into Russia while it was restricted from using stockpiles of Western-provided ballistic and cruise missiles for these operations.
Many of Ukraine’s domestically produced long-range weapons now rival — and, in some cases, even exceed — the reach of the Western missiles that Kyiv has in its arsenal.
Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security of Ukraine
For instance, in August, Ukraine revealed a new cruise missile called “Flamingo” that is said to have a range of around 1,800 miles. That’s around three times the reach of Long Neptune, which itself has over three times the reach of the UK-made Storm Shadow cruise missile.
Ukraine’s long-range drones have struck targets in Russia over 1,000 miles away. These are regularly used to attack airfields, ammuniton depots, weapons production facilities, and other military sites well beyond the front lines.
In recent weeks, Ukraine has used its long-range drones to target the Russian energy sector, hitting oil facilities around the country in an attempt to apply increased pressure on Moscow and cut off critical funding that helps fund its war efforts.
Speaking at the industry forum on Monday, Zelenkyy said the drones “that strike Russian oil assets are a significant demonstration of Ukraine’s strength. Never before in history has Ukrainian defense been so long-range and so felt by Russia.”
