MBDA, the developer of the Storm Shadow cruise missile, will help Ukraine develop a next-generation Neptune cruise missile, the company announced in a press release.
Modified Neptune anti-ship missiles famously sank the Russian Black Sea Fleet flagship, the Moskva, in April 2022. These were later upgraded for use against land targets, greatly boosting their range and payload size. Ukraine has extensively used Storm Shadow (or SCALP) missiles to strike Russian targets throughout the full-scale war.
The Neptune’s producer, the Luch Design Bureau, signed a memorandum of understanding with MBDA on 16 June to “pursue disruptive innovation to develop the deep strike capability for Neptune 2 while advancing strategic defence cooperation with Ukraine.”
The announcement comes at a time when Ukraine continues to ramp up long-range strikes against Russian air defenses, logistics hubs, refineries, military factories, and other targets that enable the invasion, while building up and scaling its drone and missile strike options.
Luch produces a range of guided missiles for anti-ship, anti-tank, anti-air, and anti-ground roles, as well as the components that go into them.
MBDA is a multinational European defense contractor, which has its hands in two dozen families of missiles in its portfolio, from the tactical Brimstone to the SAMP/T air defense platform produced jointly with Thales.
Neptune cruise missile
The original Neptune has a reported range of 280 kilometers, able to carry a 150-kilogram warhead. The "Long Neptune" has a reported range of over 1,000 kilometers, with a 260-kilogram warhead, able to hit targets on both land and sea.
Just as importantly, this newer version is reportedly capable of hugging even hilly terrain and close to its targets without satellite navigation, which makes it harder to bring down.
In October, Ukraine's Defense Ministry also presented a newer version equipped with what appear to be additional fuel reservoirs.
The memorandum announcement did not mention any details about what the next-gen Neptune 2 might look like. However, if developed and proves to be effective, it may add another tool into Ukraine’s arsenal to strike at Russia’s economic and military pressure points to disable its war machine by acupuncture.
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