What is known about the Ukrainian coastal complex “Neptune”, which lined up the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet “Moscow”
Our readers have certainly heard about the destruction of the Russian navy’s flagship “Moscow” by the Ukrainian anti-ship complex “Neptune”. We offer you a brief overview of the complex itself, the history of its creation and some little-known details of its use.
Well, what about the technical details of “Neptune”
Let’s start with the TTX (tactical and technical characteristics) of the complex:
- maximum range of 350 km;
- Tatra chassis;
- subsonic rocket “Neptune”;
- transport and launch container TPK-360
- R-360 missile
- Unified launcher USPU-360
- TZM-360 transport and charging car
- Conveyor TM-360
- KNO ground equipment set
- all-weather
- Maximum speed, km / h: on the highway – 70, on dirt roads – 25
- Traffic reserve, km: up to 1000
Basic TTX rockets (RK-360):
- Shooting range, km: from 7 to 280
- Distance of the starting position from the shoreline, km: not more than 25
- Maximum ammunition of the complex, units: 72
- Maximum number of R-360 in a volley, units: 24
- Launch interval in a volley, s: from 3 to 5
- Deployment time of the complex at the new position, min, up to 15
- Range of flight altitudes R-360 above the crest of the waves, m: from 3 to 10
History of creation
The general designer of “Neptune” is Oleg Korostylov (who was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine). It was created in the Kyiv design bureau “Ray”. Start of development – 2018. The project was implemented in an unrealistically short time and with minimal funding. The initiators and lobbyists of the creation of “Neptune” were a whole group of people, among whom we can mention Petro Poroshenko, Alexander Turchinov, Sergei Pashinsky and Ivan Vinnyk. The main production facilities were located in Zhytomyr, where warheads were produced.
Today in Ukraine, there are several examples of the complex (how much is a military secret). As mentioned above, it is based on the chassis of the Czech truck manufacturer Tatra. Although from the beginning it was planned that he would go into serial production on the platform “Kraz”.
The fate of “Neptune”, as in another Ukrainian development of “Bogdan”, is very difficult. After the creation and testing of Neptune, the project was frozen, ie no funding was received. It was restored only in 2021. But due to the lack of a clear understanding of which platform it will be developed in series – “Tatra” or “Kraz” – the project stopped again. The only thing that has been done during this time is to create a fairly large number of rockets for “Neptune”. At the beginning of the war, they were all at different stages of readiness at the plant in Zhytomyr. From where they were miraculously taken to Odessa on March 3 by volunteers. The trigger itself was already there.
How did Neptune manage to flood Moscow?
So, how did Neptune manage to sink the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, the Moscow Navy? Few people know, but our soldiers have already trained on the corvette “Admiral Essen”, which belongs to the same Black Sea Fleet.
The rocket, launched from “Neptune”, caused serious damage to the Russian warship, despite the fact that it was partially disabled. The ship suffered significant damage and was withdrawn from the navy for a long time.
Now for the Moscow missile cruiser. Some sources on the Internet claim that the attack on him was complex. That is, first our reconnaissance determined the exact location of the ship, and then the Bayraktar UAV took to the air, which with several accurate shots disabled the cruiser’s radar. This meant that after that he became essentially defenseless, and his S-300 F anti-missile system simply went blind.
And after the ship was brought to the required state, it was struck by “Neptune”. Two missiles were fired, both of which hit the target. As a result, ammunition detonated and a fire broke out on the cruiser. A total of 510 crew members were on board the ship at the time of the explosion.
It is worth noting that the weather that night was stormy, which made any rescue measures impossible. On the other hand, it helped to sink the cruiser as quickly as possible. The fact is that after the explosion, he leaned to the side and took a lot of water. The stormy waters of the Black Sea completed the task. That is why “Moscow” sent an SOS signal.
However, shortly afterwards, there were reports that the cruiser was allegedly afloat and on its way to repairs. This was announced by Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. He also added that the US military did not know exactly what had happened that night. He said the Pentagon was considering two versions: an explosion of ammunition as a result of an accident or a missile strike.
Ukraine should be proud of its own developments
The first reports of the death of the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet began to appear late last night. The first reaction of the people was distrust and surprise. No one could have imagined then that the Ukrainian military had managed to destroy the beauty and pride of the Russian armed forces. But the fact remains – “Moscow” was disabled and sank.
Why is the very fact of the destruction of “Moscow” so important? First, we have proven to everyone that we have effective anti-ship systems of our own production. Secondly, we have dealt a significant blow to the prestige of Russia and its navy. Third, we destroyed a missile cruiser with 16 cruise missiles on board. This means that the enemy will no longer use them. Fourth, Moscow was to cover the landing ships during the landing operation in Odessa. Now it is gone, and the Russians will have to look for a replacement, which also does not exist. They simply do not have another similar ship in the Black Sea.
By the way, the day after the death of “Moscow”, rumors began to appear on the Internet that Putin had a nervous breakdown. He is said to have been so enraged that he even broke several chairs and smashed the bathroom.
This is a tremendous success for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which has proved that a country without its own navy is able to compete on an equal footing with much superior enemy forces at sea. Unfortunately, today we have only a few Neptune installations, but we have managed to make quite a few rockets for it. Therefore, we can say only one thing to the occupiers: beware, you will not take us naked!
