The Neptune cruise missile that severely damaged a Russian warship
- Category
Science & Technology
- Published
25th Apr, 2022
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Context
Ukraine claimed to have severely damaged the Russian Black Sea Fleet Flagship ‘Moskva’ off the coast of Odessa via a missile strike on the ship.
About
What is the type of cruise missile that hit the Moskva?
- The Ukrainians claim that the Moskva was hit by two anti-ship cruise missiles called the Neptune. Ironically, the design of this missile is based on a Russian Kh-35 cruise missile which goes by the NATO name of AS-20 Kayak.
- The Neptune Missile system was inducted into the Ukrainian Defence Forces in March 2021 after being in development for around six years.
- The cruise missile was developed in haste by the military as the Russian threat to the coastal areas of Ukraine was growing rapidly since the occupation of Crimea in 2014.
- According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, the Neptune is a coastal anti-ship cruise missile which is capable of destruction of naval vessels in a range of about 300 km.
About Moskva, the ship that was hit by the missile:
- Moskva is a guided missile cruiser of the Russian Navy named after the city of Moscow.
- It has a displacement of 12,490 tons.
- It is the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy and carries a crew of around 500 personnel.
- The Moskva was originally commissioned as the Slava in 1983.
- It was recommissioned in 2000 as the Moskva with refurbished weapon systems and electronics.