The Neptune cruise missile that severely damaged a Russian warship

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.

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.
• The Neptune is a coastal anti-ship cruise missile which is capable of destruction of naval vessels in a range of about 300 km.
  • 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.
• Weight: Weighing 870 kg and carrying a 150kg warhead, Neptune missiles are capable of destroying targets of up to 5,000 tons.
• Range: Neptune has a range of around 300 kilometres (186 miles) and can carry warheads of up 150 kilograms (over 330 pounds).
• 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.
  

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.