The Head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal published a series of photos taken during a demonstration of the capabilities of the Ukrainian defense industry to NATO representatives. In them, analysts noticed a new version of the Neptune cruise missile, which was probably not previously mentioned in open sources. It has already been nicknamed “Puffy Neptune” on the network, but its official name is still unknown.
Points of attention
- The missile's design elements hint at a balance between range and warhead weight, with possible variations in fuel allocation to achieve different operational objectives.
- This development showcases Ukraine's continuous innovation in defense technology, with the 'Puffy Neptune' expanding the range of capabilities within the Neptune missile series.
Ukraine is creating different versions of the Neptunes
Defense Express analysts, after reviewing new photos from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, immediately drew attention to the R-360 missile with rather unusual thickenings in the middle of the body.
Due to the lack of a known index, it is currently nicknamed "Puffy Neptune".
What is important to understand is that it is indeed different from the two known versions of this missile — the anti-ship R-360 and the RK360L, the so-called "Long Neptune".
According to analysts, the diameter of the "Puffy Neptune" corresponds to the anti-ship version (38 cm), as, most likely, the wingspan and overall length (4.5 meters without the accelerator).
But the thickening is, with a high degree of probability, conformal fuel tanks, which allow to increase the missile's flight range. Recall that the R-360 has a declared range of 280 km, for the "Long Neptune" — 1000 km. Therefore, taking into account the classic gradations of target ranges, it would be quite logical to assume that the "Puffy Neptune" flies at 500 km, — writes Defense Express.
Also, one cannot rule out the option of increasing the size of the warhead by reducing fuel and range.
This also makes it plausible to assume that the "Puzaty Neptup" has a range of a nominal 300 km, but a warhead weight of more than 150 kg, like on the anti-ship R-360.
