Ukraine tests Neptune coastal missile system

Ukraine's state-owned Luch Design Bureau's Neptune anti-ship missile system was test-fired at the Black Sea on April 2.

"Second succesful test of the Neptune land-based cruise missile system was conducted on April 2 at Alibey test site in the Black Sea. During the firing of the Neptune, the tactical and technical characteristics, in particular, the range and accuracy of the defeat of the naval targets, were checked. The surface targets were hit at the specified range," National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine said in a statement Friday.

"The operational range of the Neptune during the tests was upto 100km," Secretary of the NSDC Oleksiy Danilov posted on his Facebook account.

The Neptune uses the newest cruise missile P-360. The P-360 missile weighs 870 kg, the warhead weights 150 kg, and its range is up to 300 km. The missile's speed is about 900 km/h, and the altitude is from 3 to 10 meters, according to Ukrainian media.

It is possible to launch 24 missiles simultaneously with a full volley of 6 missile systems. Pause between launches is from 3 to 5 seconds. The system can be deployed up to 25 km from the coastline. The required time for its deployment is up to 15 minutes.

Neptune missiles are designed to destroy enemy ships with a displacement of up to 5000 tons, as well as ground targets. The systems were developed on the basis of the Soviet Kh-35 missile.