("Neptune")
Global Network quoted Belgium "Naval Identification" report on March 29 that the Russian Navy currently needs to face the threat of the "Neptune" missile from Ukraine in the Crimea region. Since Ukraine still controls part of the coast of Black Sea and Azov , once the Neptune missile is deployed on these Ukrainian-controlled territories, it can objectively threaten all Russian naval bases in the Black Sea and Azov regions. Western media also believe that the Neptune missile is an important weapon that Ukraine can currently completely suppress the Russian Black Sea Fleet .
(Close-up of Neptune Missile)
In fact, the "Neptune" missile is not a new weapon. It was developed with the code name of X-35 long before the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is a light multi-purpose anti-ship missile similar to the United States' " Harpoon " anti-ship missile . During the Soviet period, this missile was designed by the "Luqi" Design Bureau located in Kiev, and the engine was developed by the famous motor Sichi company , while the missile body was completed in the final assembly at the Kharkov aircraft manufacturer. Although this missile was not fully developed when the Soviet Union collapsed, Ukraine retained all the drawings and technical data of the Neptune missile, and has not sold the technical data of the 30 years from 1991 to the present.
(Russian " Uranus " missile, and Ukrainian "Neptune" can be said to be cousins)
In fact, the "Neptune" missile also has a Russian "cousin", which is the X-35 anti-ship missile that is nicknamed "Harposky", and Russia calls it "Uranus" anti-ship missile. Because when the Soviet Union collapsed, Russia and Ukraine both retained the technical data of the X-35, and because Russia's technical strength was stronger and the industrial chain was more complete, Russia quickly completed the development of the X-35 missile and was installed in the Russian army, and has exported a large number of foreign countries over the years. Ukraine has a huge gap with Russia in terms of both technical strength and economic level, so the Neptune missile was gradually installed in the Ukrainian army until recent years.
(Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missile force)
According to public information, it is not difficult to find that the Neptune missile is basically the same as the X-35, and is similar to the US military's "harpoon" anti-ship missile, but it is completely incomparable compared with the subsequent X-35U launched by Russia. The latest version of the Russian X-35 X-35 U missile has increased the maximum range of the missile from the original 130 kilometers to about 260 kilometers, while the Ukrainian Neptune missile still maintains the original design of 130 kilometers, so the actual combat performance of the Neptune missile may not be worth overestimating.
(Soviet "Hornet" class missile boat, in 1971, the Indian Navy successfully attacked Karachi at night, and it was "twice"! There are still a few countries using this missile boat)
Former chairman of the Ukrainian Security and Defense Commission Alexander Turchinov (Alexander Turchinov) once said that the "Neptune" missile can destroy the Crimea Bridge built on Kerch Strait in "several minutes", and can also destroy any level of Russian warships in the Black Sea and Azov ports.
Objectively speaking, there is indeed a precedent for using anti-ship missiles to attack shore-based targets, and it is very successful: In the third Indian-Pakistan War in 1971, the Indian Navy used the Soviet-made Hornet-class missile boat to carry the Styx anti-ship missile, attacking the Pakistan Navy base in Karachi at night, and successfully destroyed the Pakistani oil depot located on land using the Styx missile, completely paralyzing the Pakistani Navy.
(location of the Kerch Strait, the Crimea Bridge spans the Kerch Strait to connect Russia and Crimea)
(beautiful Crimea Bridge, it is currently the only land transportation line between Crimea Peninsula and Russia's mainland)
Similarly, since the Crimea Bridge is a large bridge with a steel structure, it can be completely locked by the radar seeker of the anti-ship missile and is attacked. Moreover, since Ukraine has coastlines in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, it is possible to deploy the Neptune missile near the coast. With the maximum range of 130 kilometers of the missile, it is enough to cover the entire Sea of Azov and the Crimean Peninsula. So neither Turchinov nor Western media are wrong. Ukraine does have the ability to destroy the Crimean Bridge and a series of Russian military bases in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
(Since the bridge is mainly made of steel, it has a strong radar reflection effect and is an ideal target for anti-ship missiles. The picture shows the Ukrainian Neptune missile shooting live targets)
However, neither Turchinov nor the Western media said that if Ukraine dares to use the Neptune missile to destroy the Crimean Bridge, it is undoubtedly equivalent to declaring war on Russia. Although Russia's economy has not been optimistic in recent years and its military construction is relatively insufficient, compared with Ukraine, Russia is still a behemoth.
And Russia does not need to capture the entire Ukraine, it only needs to open the transportation line from Crimea to Russia from land. The Ukrainian army is fashionable and unable to deal with the militia in eastern Ukraine. If it faces the Russian regular army, its outcome can be imagined. Although Western countries, especially the United States, have always claimed to support Ukraine, just look at the performance of the US military in the 2008 Georgian War, we can roughly guess the true behavior of the US military on the Ukraine issue - let Ukraine be cannon fodder, and it will never confront Russia head-on.
(Whether on land or sea, Ukraine has never "winned" for many years. It is too naive to rely on a missile to "turn the world around")
Therefore, although Ukraine's "Neptune" missile is not as good as Russia's X-35U, it definitely has the ability to destroy the Crimea Bridge and the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet base. But if Ukraine really does this, it is highly likely to become a landlocked country directly. I wonder if Ukraine is willing to bear this price?
