Ukraine’s Long Neptune Cruise Missile Seen in Action For The First Time
For the first time, Ukraine has presented footage that purportedly shows its extended-range Long Neptune cruise missile in action. Part of a growing arsenal of long-range cruise missiles from domestic production, the Long Neptune was unveiled in March of this year, at which point Zelensky claimed it had already been tested in combat.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shared a video that he said showed the Long Neptune being launched against a target in Russia. He did not provide the date of the claimed launch or what was targeted.
“We’re producing more,” Zelensky said of the Long Neptune, in a comment posted alongside the video.
Previously, the Ukrainian president disclosed that his forces “successfully used Long Neptunes against designated targets on Russian territory — and this is our entirely just response to Russia’s ongoing terror. Ukrainian missiles are delivering increasingly significant and precise results virtually every month.”
Zelensky added: “I thank everyone working on our missile program and giving Ukraine this accuracy and long-range capability.”
The new video indicates that the Long Neptune is fired from a transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) of a different design from that used for at least the original versions of the missile. As well as the longer canisters required for the bigger missiles, there is a larger gap between the first and second axles and the third and fourth axles on the new TEL. Meanwhile, there is no longer a space between the cabin and the command module, as was previously the case.
The Long Neptune is an extended-range derivative of the previous land-attack version of the Neptune anti-ship missile, which is powered by a small turbofan jet engine. The land-attack version reportedly has a guidance package that combines a GPS-assisted inertial navigation system (INS) and an imaging infrared sensor in place of the anti-ship missile’s active radar seeker.
Ukraine famously used Neptune missiles to sink the Russian Navy’s Slava class cruiser Moskva in 2022 and reportedly began developing a new land-attack version in 2023. The anti-ship Neptune is a Ukrainian development of the Soviet-era Kh-35, known to NATO as the SS-N-25 Switchblade, variants of which remain in service in Russia and elsewhere globally.
The Long Neptune features an extended body with capacity for additional fuel, which Zelensky has said gives it a range in the region of 620 miles (1,000 kilometers).
This is significantly further than the original land-attack version of the Neptune, which a Ukrainian defense official previously told TWZ has a range of up to 225 miles (360 kilometers).
Meanwhile, the maximum stated range of the anti-ship version of Neptune is said to be around 190 miles (300 kilometers).
Unclear at this stage is what kind of warhead the Long Neptune carries, but the anti-ship Neptune missile carries an explosive charge weighing around 330 pounds (150 kilograms). The Long Neptune can be distinguished from the previous versions on account of its longer and wider main body, with tapering tail and nose sections. The main fins are also bigger and are not swept.
It’s worth noting that another version of the Neptune has also been developed, this one apparently featuring fuel tank ‘bulges’ for increased range. As you can read about here, this model appears to be something like an intermediate-range version, falling between the original land-attack Neptune and the Long Neptune.
There have been unconfirmed reports that the Long Neptune may have been used in overnight Ukrainian strikes focused on the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, in southern Russia. The port is a key hub facilitating the export of Russian oil. The city is also now home to much of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, providing it with something of a safe haven, after its warships were essentially forced out of waters closer to Crimea following a concerted Ukrainian campaign waged against them.
According to Supernova+, a Ukrainian Telegram channel, likely more than one Long Neptune was used to attack Novorossiysk, specifically targeting the Sheskharis oil terminal, which was set ablaze, according to unconfirmed videos circulating on social media.
U.K.-based maritime security firm Ambrey said it had seen evidence of large explosions, including one that occurred in a container yard at the port, leaving a crane and several containers damaged. The same source said that a non-sanctioned container ship alongside the terminal suffered some collateral damage due to falling drone debris. “Reportedly, three crew members were injured,” Ambrey added.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that it shot down 216 Ukrainian drones during the attack, during which authorities in Novorossiysk declared a state of emergency. According to state news agency TASS, apartment buildings in the city were struck, and at least two people were injured.
For its part, Russia continues its heavy bombardment of Ukrainian targets, with Kyiv being in the crosshairs overnight and into this morning.
According to Ukrainian authorities, dozens were wounded in the strikes on the Ukrainian capital, with several apartment buildings being hit.
Zelensky described the Russian raids as a “wicked attack” that involved around 430 drones and 18 missiles — reportedly also including ground-launched cruise missiles. As well as Kyiv, targets in the Kharkiv and Odesa regions were also struck.
While it’s unclear if the Long Neptune was used in last night’s Novorossiysk raid, land-attack versions of the weapon are now established as important weapons for conducting strikes on targets inside Russia. More than 50 Russian targets were struck with Neptune-series cruise missiles in the past year, the Ukrainian Armed Forces revealed last month.
More broadly, the growing Neptune family reflects Ukraine’s efforts to ramp up domestic arms production, with a particular focus on the ability to hit targets deeper inside Russia.
These weapons include another cruise missile, the ground-launched Flamingo, which is said to have a range of 1,864 miles (3,000 kilometers) and a warhead weighing 2,535 pounds (1,150 kilograms). The Flamingo was one of the weapons used in the overnight attacks on targets in Russia and Russian-occupied Ukraine, the Ukrainian military general staff said.
Ukraine has also fielded an extensive array of domestically produced long-range kamikaze drones, as well as munitions that blur the line between those weapons and traditional cruise missiles, like the Peklo ‘missile drone’. The results of Ukraine’s domestic ballistic missile program remain less clear.
For both the Long Neptune and the Flamingo, these cruise missiles offer greater range and payload than most long-range drones, and they also carry purpose-designed warheads, rather than improvised ones, meaning that they can go after more substantial targets and inflict greater damage.
Otherwise, Ukrainian-operated standoff weapons capable of hitting targets deeper inside Russia include air-launched Storm Shadow and SCALP-EG cruise missiles provided by the United Kingdom, Italy, and France, as well as ground-based Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) short-range ballistic missiles provided by the United States. Many of these Western-supplied weapons are still restricted, to one degree or another, in term of how they can be used against targets deeper inside Russia. Ukraine has no such restrictions on its own weapons.
Kyiv has long been campaigning to receive Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States, but so far, Washington has refused these requests, with U.S. President Donald Trump saying he is “not looking to see an escalation” in the conflict. These highly accurate missiles would be able to hit targets roughly 1,000 miles from Ukraine’s borders.
However, the United States has agreed to supply Ukraine with thousands of examples of new and relatively low-cost standoff missiles developed under the Extended Range Attack Munitions (ERAM) program. It should be noted that we do not know what kinds of restrictions might be placed on the use of these weapons, either.
Despite a softening in the U.S. stance toward providing Ukraine with longer-range standoff weapons, as frustration with Moscow grows, for the time being, Ukraine is relying primarily on locally produced weapons to strike critical targets within Russia.
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