Russia has taken a serious blow to its drone arsenal Shahed-136. A week after the Ukrainian Armed Forces (FAU) will destroy a Russian Nebo-M radar station using the US Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), They have successfully attacked a kamikaze drone storage base Shahid of Russia using its R-360 Neptune cruise missile.
As reported by the FAU, the attack group of the Naval Forcesin cooperation with units of the Security Service of Ukraine, attacked the Shahed base located near the Russian city of Oktyabrsky this October 9th. The facility had approximately 400 Shahed drones at the time of the attack, all of which were destroyed. The FAU recorded a precise hit on the target, after which a secondary detonation occurred. The destruction of the Shahed UAV storage base will reduce Russia’s ability to attack targets in Ukraine with this type of weaponry. According to Forbes, this number equals 5% of all Shahed drones that Russia has deployed in the 31 months of war in Ukraine.
The destruction of the Nebo-M radar station
‘The destruction of this radar significantly reduces the Russian military’s ability to detect, track and intercept both aerodynamic and ballistic targets‘, have stated the FAU, which estimates that Russia only has 10 functional systems of this type, each valued at more than 100 million dollars.
For Ukraine, the elimination of the Nebo-M provides a strategic advantage that allows it create an air corridor to use the Storm Shadow and SCALP-EG cruise missiles. The latest attack on the Russian drone base with a Neptune cruise missile has been successful thanks to the destruction of the radar system.
The R-360 Neptune cruise missile
The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky presented the new variant of the R-360 Neptune last August. It is adapted to attack ground targets and has a range of up to 400 kilometers. The missile was also used in an attack on the military airfield Chalinonear Kursk, Russia, where it destroyed an ammunition depot.
Originally developed in 2018 by the Luch Design Office based in kyiv, the R-360 Neptune was designed as an anti-ship missile with a range of 280 to 300 kilometers. But its new version expands its range and capability to ground targets, which has increased Ukraine’s ability to carry out long-range precision strikes.
The R-360 Neptune can reach a subsonic speed of 900 km/h and fly at altitudes ranging from 10 to 300 metersdescending to alone 3 meters during its final approach to avoid enemy air defenses.
Entered service with the Ukrainian Navy in 2021 and has a length of 5.05 meters and 38 cm in diameter. Its weight is 870kgcan carry a warhead of 150kg and is driven by a motor Sich MS400 turbofan.
The design of the R-360 Neptune is based on the Soviet anti-ship missile Kh-35but improving its range, precision and electronics. A Neptune coastal defense system comprises a launcher USPU-360 truck-mounted, 4 R-360 missiles, a transport/reloading vehicle TZM-360a command and control vehicle RCP-360 and a special cargo vehicle. Czech trucks Tatra T815-7 They replaced the vehicles KrAZ as a launching pad.
The Neptune already made the news in April 2022, at the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, when Ukraine used it to Sink the Russian missile cruiser Moskva in the Black Sea.