Romania plans to cooperate with the Ukrainian defence industry on developing and modernizing R-360 Neptune anti-ship missiles, says Ukrinform.
Romania wants Ukraine as a close ally in order to control the Black Sea waters from its territory, notes ActMedia.
Bucharest hopes that at least part of the Black Sea coast will remain under Ukraine’s control, says the report.
The plans of the Romanian-Ukrainian military-industrial partnership are actually designed for the post-war period, the report adds, in a curiously optimistic tone.
Unlike the air-launched French SCALP-EG missiles, Neptunes are launched from the ground and can hit targets both on land and at sea at a range of up to 400 km.
This feature makes them a strategic capability in the ongoing conflict. The missiles have been used since the war’s outset, including to sink Russia’s Black Fleet flagsip cruiser Moskva in 2022.
The Neptune missile system includes mobile launchers, transport/reload vehicles, command and control vehicles, and special transport trucks. The system is designed to operate up to 25 kilometers inland from the coast. In operational tests and combat scenarios, the Neptune has demonstrated its effectiveness, notably in the attack on the Russian cruiser Moskva in 2022. Ukraine is currently working on extending the missile’s range to 1,000 kilometers and increasing production, says the Army Recognition Group.
Neptunes could only compete with the U.S.-made ATACMS — the only weapon with a similar range used by Ukraine. At any rate, they would be essential weapons in this current conflict.
