Romania may join Ukraine in producing Neptune missiles - media

Romania, following in the footsteps of other European nations, plans to produce weapons in cooperation with Ukraine, focusing on the R-360 Neptune anti-ship missiles.

This is reported by Ukrinform with reference to Army Recognition.

In April 2023 came the initial reports that the Ukrainian defense industry is working on modernizing the R-360 missiles, although the ultimate outcome of these efforts has never been officially reported.

Romania seeks to have Ukraine as an ally in order to control the Black Sea waters from its territory. The plans of the Romanian-Ukrainian military-industrial partnership are designed for the post-war period, the report adds.

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.

Potentially, Neptunes can compete with the U.S.-made ATACMS, the only weapon with a similar range used by Ukraine.

Bucharest hopes that at least part of the Black Sea coast will remain under Ukraine’s control, the report notes.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on April 13, 2022, over two months into the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet suffered its first major losses as the Ukrainian Neptune missiles targeted the Moskva cruiser with up to a 500-strong crew on board. Russia never reported the full death toll from the strike, recognizing only 17 servicemen as killed.

In May 2024, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces confirmed media reports of a Ukrainian strike hitting a ferry crossing and an oil terminal at the Kavkaz port in Russia’s Krasnodar region.