The fact that Ukraine's Neptune missiles attacked the oil terminal of the port of Kavkaz in Russia indicates a significant upgrade in the capabilities of these domestic missiles.
Ukrainian Neptune rocket has become even more powerful
The General Staff of the Armed Forces reported that on the night of May 31, 2024, the Defence Forces of Ukraine launched a missile attack on an oil depot in the Krasnodar region of the Russian Federation and the ferry crossing of the Kavkaz port, located opposite the Kerch Peninsula.
At the same time, it is noted that the oil terminal in the area of the port "Kavkaz" was hit by several rockets of domestic production "Neptune". "The results of the objective control confirm the explosions at the aiming points. The accuracy of hitting the targets is being investigated," the General Staff of the Armed Forces emphasised.
Defense Express analysts believe that several points should be emphasised in this story.
We have literally a historic event, because this is the first time domestic missile weapons have been used to strike targets on the territory of the Russian Federation.
The historicity lies in the fact that the very fact of the attack on the terminal in the area of the Russian port "Kavkaz" indicates a significant modernisation of "Neptune", which could consist in increasing the launch range, increasing the mass of the warhead and improving the guidance system as well.
If measured "in a straight line", then, for example, in the case of a launch from the Zaporozhzhia region, the flight range of our "Neptunes" to the region of the port Kavkaz could be at least 300 km. But at the same time, it is necessary to make an amendment that the rockets could fly to the target along a complex trajectory, in order to "confuse" the anti-aircraft missile system. Due to this, the actual launch range could be greater than this minimum of 300 kilometres.
The R-360 "Neptune" in the basic anti-ship version had a warhead of 150 kg. And when the first hints appeared in the Western media that Ukraine was probably working on improving the Neptune, there was a statement in particular about the intention to increase the weight of the warhead to 300 kg.
The lion's share of the likely flight route of the Neptunes to the area of the Kavkaz port was supposed to lie over land. In order for the missiles to be able to fly in such conditions, it was necessary to significantly improve the guidance system, although the actual parameters of the improvement remain unknown.
Details of operation of Defence Forces and SSU in the port Kavkaz appeared
On the night of May 31, the Defence Forces, together with the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), conducted a several-day operation to destroy logistics that ensure the vital activities of Russian troops in Crimea.
According to preliminary information, a comprehensive attack was made on substations and power supply networks, as well as stocks of light petroleum products in the Krasnodar Krai region of the Russian Federation.
The source reported that the Defence Forces initially launched a missile attack on two ferries that were traveling to the Kavkaz port and were used for military logistics of the aggressor.
The SSU drones then hit electrical substations that supply electricity directly to the Crimean Peninsula and the waters of the Kerch Strait, including ports.
That same night, the Security Service of Ukraine together with the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked the transshipment oil depot in the Kavkaz seaport. Light oil products went to the Crimea through it. After effective training, a large-scale fire broke out, which was visible even from a satellite.
