Summary and Key Points: Ukraine has successfully transformed its Neptune missile from an antiship weapon into a land-attack tactical cruise missile known as the Long Neptune, with an impressive 1,000-kilometer range.
-Originally gaining fame by sinking Russia’s Moskva cruiser in 2022, this extended-range variant surpasses even Western missiles like Storm Shadow.
-It signifies Ukraine’s strong domestic missile-development capabilities, rooted in its Soviet-era heritage.
-The Long Neptune’s development enhances Ukraine’s military position significantly, providing leverage as geopolitical tensions rise, especially amid uncertainty in U.S.-Ukraine relations under the Trump administration.
-The missile is now combat-proven, marking an important step forward in Ukraine’s national defense strategy.
The New Neptune Missile Should Make Russia Worry
Ukraine’s homegrown Neptune missile, originally designed as an antiship munition, has been modified into a tactical cruise missile with a significantly upgraded range.
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took to the presidential Telegram channel to give an update on the modified Neptune missile and on what is believed to be the new variant’s first combat use.
“Today, we also had reports on our missile program. We have significant results. The Long Neptune has been tested and successfully used in combat. It is a new Ukrainian missile, an accurate strike,” Zelensky said.
“The range is one thousand kilometers,” he added. “I am grateful to our Ukrainian developers, manufacturers and military. We continue to work to ensure Ukraine’s security.”
President Zelensky elaborated on further combat use of the extended-range Neptune cruise missile.
“Today, we also reported on the use of Ukrainian missiles – Long Neptune. We can say that we are satisfied with the results of the destruction. But we need to produce more missiles, more drones, and we will be talking about this with our partners this week,” Zelensky said.
“The Ukrainian defense production resource, together with the investments of our partners – primarily in Europe – is a solid foundation for a new security architecture that will certainly be created on our continent. There is no alternative to this. Security is needed, and it is only a matter of time before everyone on the continent realizes that the old security architecture will no longer work.”
The new, longer-range Neptune missile, known as the Long Neptune in Ukraine, builds on a powerful reputation.
In April 2022, a pair of modified Neptune missiles, fired from a truck-mounted launcher, managed to hit and sink the Moskva, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. Barring the Kursk submarine disaster in 1999, the sinking of the Moskva was the most significant ship loss for Moscow since the Second World War.
The development of the Long Neptune is a big win for Ukraine. The missile’s range is significantly longer than the Storm Shadow or SCALP EG cruise missiles supplied by the United Kingdom and France, respectively. Those munitions have a range of approximately 550 kilometers. Ukraine has used them to strike high-value targets far behind Russian lines.
The Long Neptune’s range is even greater than that of the Taurus missile, a German cruise missile with greater capabilities than either the British or French munitions.
Ukraine During the Soviet Era: The Missile Design Powerhouse of the USSR
During Soviet times, Ukraine played a key role in missile development. Cruise missiles, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and space launch vehicles were designed on its territory, and it was also the home of some of the Soviet Union’s most important missile-technology design bureaus. Thanks also to its modern manufacturing facilities, Ukraine was an integral part of the Soviet defense industry.
Ukrainian missile production was a vital part of the Soviet Union’s strategic deterrence, and it helped the USSR maintain its nuclear arsenal. During that era, Dnipro, a city in central Ukraine, was effectively a closed city because of the sensitive nature of missile production there.
After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and Ukraine declared its independence, Kyiv inherited a significant portion of the Soviet Union’s nuclear arsenal. For a time, the country was the world’s third-largest nuclear power.
However, following the Budapest Memorandum in 1994, Ukraine gave its nuclear arsenal back to Russia in exchange for security assurances from the United States, United Kingdom, and Russia. And while Ukraine retained the institutional knowledge needed for advanced missile design and production, the chaos of the post-Soviet era, and the removal of Soviet-turned-Russian supply chains, led to a steep decline in the country’s missile-production capabilities.
The Neptune’s origin story begins with the Kh-35 subsonic antiship and cruise missile, developed in the mid-to-late 1980s as an inexpensive antiship weapon akin to the United States’ Harpoon antiship munition.
Though the Soviet Union fielded a variety of antiship weapons prior to the development and introduction of the Kh-35, those munitions were costly. The Kh-35 was an attempt to field a robust antiship capability for smaller surface vessels with a displacement of less than 5,000 tons, while also being cost-effective.
The initial Ukrainian Neptune missile, a product of the country’s domestic missile industry, builds on that design. The country today is particularly well positioned to design advanced missiles.
Indeed, it is evident that Ukraine has retained enough experience and infrastructure to develop advanced missile designs that are inflicting considerable damage on Russian forces. This is evidenced by the Neptune missile’s ability to strike targets on land and at sea from ranges that exceed the weaponry supplied by Western countries.
Neptune Could Do Some Serious Damage
The Long Neptune comes at a crucial time for Ukraine. With the Trump administration in the United States seemingly willing to reach an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin that goes above the heads of the Ukrainian administration, anything Kyiv can use to leverage concessions is a boon.
And following recent setbacks in Kursk for the Ukrainians, they’ll be keen to press back against the encroaching Russian line using any and all the tools at their disposal.
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
