Ukrainian coastal missile system "Neptune"
In the framework of the exhibition in KievWeapon and Security 2019" the Ukrainian defense industry presented its new product – missile the Neptune complex based on the chassis of KrAZ all-terrain trucks. The exhibition will last in the capital of Ukraine from October 8 to 11. The Neptune cruise anti-ship missile was first demonstrated in Kyiv back in 2015. But now the complex is increasingly being designed as a Russian analogue of the Bal mobile coastal missile systems, only on the chassis of the new Ukrainian four-axle KrAZ trucks.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine got a fairly powerful military-industrial complex. True, as in the military-industrial complex of the Republic of Belarus, he had one peculiarity - a low proportion of finishing developments of weapons and military equipment. In the USSR, the share of Ukraine in such developments amounted to only 7 percent, the all-Russian weekly newspaper “Military-Industrial Courier” (issue of June 17 of June 2009) reports in the article “Choice for Ukraine”. Like the military-industrial complexes of other union republics, the military-industrial complex of Ukraine was primarily tied to cooperation with the Russian military-industrial complex to supply a number of components and components for assembling finished products. This, along with the general economic crisis and political instability in the post-Soviet period, caused the deplorable state of the defense industry of independent Ukraine.
At the same time, Kiev, of course, is able to independently develop and produce a wide range of weapons and military equipment: from automatic weapons and trucks to tanks and various light armored vehicles, as well as missiles of all types and even warships. Another thing is that the restoration of the military-industrial complex, as well as its development and the creation of new enterprises and design bureaus will require great efforts from the military-political leadership of Ukraine. In the meantime, many developments of Ukrainian military companies, one way or another, are based on the common Soviet heritage of our states. In this regard, the new Ukrainian anti-ship missile R-360 is no exception.
Like the Russian X-35 missile from the Bal coastal missile defense system, the Ukrainian Neptune is designed to destroy surface targets with a displacement of up to 5000 tons. That is, this cruise missile can be used to combat enemy destroyers, frigates, cruisers and transports, as well as landing ships and tank landing ships and barges, acting both as part of separate naval groups and landing squads, or independently. In addition, the Ukrainian side reports that the missile can also be used to strike coastal radiopaque targets. The use of the rocket does not depend on weather conditions and time of day.
One glance at the new Ukrainian missile is enough to understand that it has a lot in common with the Soviet anti-ship missile X-35, which was adopted by Russia already in 2003. At the same time, tests of this cruise missile continued from 1983 of the year. When looking at photographs of two products, a layman is unlikely to be able to distinguish one rocket from another. Today, the Russian X-35 missile can be used both from ships (the Uran missile system) and as part of the Bal coastal missile systems. It is also possible to use from air carriers. The Ukrainian side also claims that the R-360 missile is universal, the possibility of use from ground launchers (test launches are already underway), from ships and aircraft, has been announced.
Engineers from the state-owned Kyiv design bureau Luch are responsible for the creation of the new Ukrainian anti-ship missile. The Motor Sich association is responsible for the creation of the engine. Experts have no doubt that the new Ukrainian missile is an adaptation of Soviet and Russian developments on the Kh-35 to the new Ukrainian realities. Considering that the USSR expected to deploy the assembly of the new Kh-35 anti-ship missile bodies in Kharkiv on the basis of the Kharkiv aviation plant, and the Russian Federation, beginning in 1993, continued cooperation with Ukraine on the X-35 rocket project, there is no reason to doubt that the Ukrainian side had the necessary set of technical documentation. Moreover, back in 2002, Kyiv received from its Russian partners a reference model of the new Russian X-35 rocket.
If we talk about the power plant of the new Ukrainian missile, then it also leads its way from Soviet developments. The MC400 bypass turbojet engine manufactured by the Zaporozhye Motor Sich company is based on similar Soviet engines TRRD-50 and R-95-300, which were originally developed for installation on various types of subsonic aircraft: cruise missiles, target missiles and drones. Naturally, progress does not stand still. If for the R-95-300 the declared dry weight was 95 kg, then for the MC400 it decreased to 85 kg, while in principle these are the same engines with the same thrust and overall characteristics, simply made at a different technological level, primarily in terms of the materials used and how they are processed.
The composition of the new coastal defense missile system is already known and published in Ukrainian publications. The RK-360MC complex includes:
1. Mobile command post RCP-360, designed for automated control of parts of the coastal defense complex, crew - 5 people. The maximum deployment time on the ground is no more than 10 minutes.
2. The P-360 anti-ship missile itself in the TPK-360 transport and launch container. For a rocket, the manufacturer declared the following characteristics: mass - 870 kg, warhead mass - 150 kg, missile diameter - 380 mm, firing range - from 7 to 280 km, flight height above the crest of the wave - from 3 to 10 meters. The missile features include the fact that it can be used for strikes and on ground targets.
3. The USPU-360 unified launcher based on the chassis of the four-axle KrAZ-7634НЕ vehicle with the wheel formula 8х8. The installation is intended for placement, transportation, temporary storage, as well as directly launches of the P-360 anti-ship missile. Each launcher has four such missiles.
4. Transport and loading machine TZM-360, which is designed for temporary storage, transportation and transshipment of four TPK-360. The declared deployment time is 10 minutes, the time of reloading missiles is up to 20 minutes, the calculation of the machine is 3 people.
5. Transport machine ТМ-360, designed for temporary storage, placement and transportation of TPK-360.
6. Set of ground equipment.
Estimated structure of the missile complex of coastal defense RK-360MC "Neptune": command post control; three launch batteries, two universal launchers in each (6 USPU-360 and 24 ready to launch missiles); technical battery and support units. The technical battery includes 6 transport-loading and 6 transport vehicles (one special machine for each launcher). Given the TPK with P-360 missiles available on them, the total stock of missiles of one complex with three starting batteries is 72 anti-ship missiles. Thus, the complex is able to simultaneously launch up to 24 missiles on surface targets, the launch interval in a salvo is 3-5 seconds. After a volley, the complex may change its location. The declared deployment time of the complex at new positions does not exceed 15 minutes.
Currently, the Neptune complex is undergoing a factory test phase. In April and May of the 2019 of the year, in the Odessa region firing of anti-ship missiles P-360 from universal launchers USPU-360 was carried out. Tests are conducted at the state test site of the Armed Forces of Ukraine "Alibey." According to a press release from the state-owned company Ukroboronprom, in May a missile equipped with a homing head was tested. However, the test missile was generally equipped with a homing head, they doubt the specialized military blog bmpd, which is an informal publication published under the auspices of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies. The bmpd blog believes that the launch of the rocket, as in April of the 2019 of the year, was carried out along a predetermined path without pointing the P-360 to a real surface target.
The Ukrainian side chose KrAZ trucks as the base for its missile system. At the exhibition in Kiev, the new USPU-360 launchers were demonstrated on the basis of the four-axle KrAZ 7634НЕ chassis with the wheel formula 8х8. As well as the RKP-360 mobile command post and the TZM-360 transport and loading vehicle, the base for which was the well-proven three-axle KrAZ 6322 with the 6x6 wheel arrangement. A distinctive feature of all the vehicles presented is the presence of an armored cockpit, for the development of which the specialists of the Ukrainian Armored Equipment enterprise were responsible. We are talking about armored cabs similar to those that are installed today on Ukrainian wheeled armored vehicles with mine protection SBA "Varta". Reservation of “Varta” provides the crew with protection against small arms fire - up to and including armor-piercing bullets of caliber 7,62x39 mm.
Of greatest interest is the new Ukrainian KrAZ-7634НE chassis. For the first time, this model was introduced only in January 2014 of the year. The car is a four-axle off-road vehicle of a cabless layout with a rather unusual scheme, in which the cab is located in front of the engine. Managed are the first and second axles of the car. The cross-country chassis can be used both in the civilian sector and for military purposes, as a carrier of various weapons systems. In addition to the use of the "Neptune" missile system, it is known about plans to use this off-road chassis as part of the Ukrainian Alder missile system under development. The mounting length of the frame, which is 8080 mm, and high load capacity (at the level of 27 tons) make it possible to install various types of modern weapons on the KrAZ-7634Н chassis.
Initially, it was planned to install the Yaroslavl 8-cylinder diesel engine YaMZ-7511.10 with a power of 400 hp, working with a clutch and gearbox also of Yaroslavl production. However, such a version is likely to remain as an option for cars shipped for export and civilian versions of the car, while the Ukrainian military will switch to cars with foreign engines. In the 2019 year, KrAZ already presented these cars with a more powerful new engine (460-strong) and an automatic gearbox. In particular, KrAZ previously installed Ford-Ecotorq 9.0L 360PS engines and Weichai Chinese engines on three-axle truck models.
Complex RK-360MC "Neptune"
Soviet legacy of Neptune
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine got a fairly powerful military-industrial complex. True, as in the military-industrial complex of the Republic of Belarus, he had one peculiarity - a low proportion of finishing developments of weapons and military equipment. In the USSR, the share of Ukraine in such developments amounted to only 7 percent, the all-Russian weekly newspaper “Military-Industrial Courier” (issue of June 17 of June 2009) reports in the article “Choice for Ukraine”. Like the military-industrial complexes of other union republics, the military-industrial complex of Ukraine was primarily tied to cooperation with the Russian military-industrial complex to supply a number of components and components for assembling finished products. This, along with the general economic crisis and political instability in the post-Soviet period, caused the deplorable state of the defense industry of independent Ukraine.
At the same time, Kiev, of course, is able to independently develop and produce a wide range of weapons and military equipment: from automatic weapons and trucks to tanks and various light armored vehicles, as well as missiles of all types and even warships. Another thing is that the restoration of the military-industrial complex, as well as its development and the creation of new enterprises and design bureaus will require great efforts from the military-political leadership of Ukraine. In the meantime, many developments of Ukrainian military companies, one way or another, are based on the common Soviet heritage of our states. In this regard, the new Ukrainian anti-ship missile R-360 is no exception.
Like the Russian X-35 missile from the Bal coastal missile defense system, the Ukrainian Neptune is designed to destroy surface targets with a displacement of up to 5000 tons. That is, this cruise missile can be used to combat enemy destroyers, frigates, cruisers and transports, as well as landing ships and tank landing ships and barges, acting both as part of separate naval groups and landing squads, or independently. In addition, the Ukrainian side reports that the missile can also be used to strike coastal radiopaque targets. The use of the rocket does not depend on weather conditions and time of day.
Launch of the R-360 Neptune missile
One glance at the new Ukrainian missile is enough to understand that it has a lot in common with the Soviet anti-ship missile X-35, which was adopted by Russia already in 2003. At the same time, tests of this cruise missile continued from 1983 of the year. When looking at photographs of two products, a layman is unlikely to be able to distinguish one rocket from another. Today, the Russian X-35 missile can be used both from ships (the Uran missile system) and as part of the Bal coastal missile systems. It is also possible to use from air carriers. The Ukrainian side also claims that the R-360 missile is universal, the possibility of use from ground launchers (test launches are already underway), from ships and aircraft, has been announced.
Engineers from the state-owned Kyiv design bureau Luch are responsible for the creation of the new Ukrainian anti-ship missile. The Motor Sich association is responsible for the creation of the engine. Experts have no doubt that the new Ukrainian missile is an adaptation of Soviet and Russian developments on the Kh-35 to the new Ukrainian realities. Considering that the USSR expected to deploy the assembly of the new Kh-35 anti-ship missile bodies in Kharkiv on the basis of the Kharkiv aviation plant, and the Russian Federation, beginning in 1993, continued cooperation with Ukraine on the X-35 rocket project, there is no reason to doubt that the Ukrainian side had the necessary set of technical documentation. Moreover, back in 2002, Kyiv received from its Russian partners a reference model of the new Russian X-35 rocket.
If we talk about the power plant of the new Ukrainian missile, then it also leads its way from Soviet developments. The MC400 bypass turbojet engine manufactured by the Zaporozhye Motor Sich company is based on similar Soviet engines TRRD-50 and R-95-300, which were originally developed for installation on various types of subsonic aircraft: cruise missiles, target missiles and drones. Naturally, progress does not stand still. If for the R-95-300 the declared dry weight was 95 kg, then for the MC400 it decreased to 85 kg, while in principle these are the same engines with the same thrust and overall characteristics, simply made at a different technological level, primarily in terms of the materials used and how they are processed.
The composition of the rocket complex "Neptune"
The composition of the new coastal defense missile system is already known and published in Ukrainian publications. The RK-360MC complex includes:
1. Mobile command post RCP-360, designed for automated control of parts of the coastal defense complex, crew - 5 people. The maximum deployment time on the ground is no more than 10 minutes.
2. The P-360 anti-ship missile itself in the TPK-360 transport and launch container. For a rocket, the manufacturer declared the following characteristics: mass - 870 kg, warhead mass - 150 kg, missile diameter - 380 mm, firing range - from 7 to 280 km, flight height above the crest of the wave - from 3 to 10 meters. The missile features include the fact that it can be used for strikes and on ground targets.
3. The USPU-360 unified launcher based on the chassis of the four-axle KrAZ-7634НЕ vehicle with the wheel formula 8х8. The installation is intended for placement, transportation, temporary storage, as well as directly launches of the P-360 anti-ship missile. Each launcher has four such missiles.
4. Transport and loading machine TZM-360, which is designed for temporary storage, transportation and transshipment of four TPK-360. The declared deployment time is 10 minutes, the time of reloading missiles is up to 20 minutes, the calculation of the machine is 3 people.
5. Transport machine ТМ-360, designed for temporary storage, placement and transportation of TPK-360.
6. Set of ground equipment.
Mobile command post RCP-360
Estimated structure of the missile complex of coastal defense RK-360MC "Neptune": command post control; three launch batteries, two universal launchers in each (6 USPU-360 and 24 ready to launch missiles); technical battery and support units. The technical battery includes 6 transport-loading and 6 transport vehicles (one special machine for each launcher). Given the TPK with P-360 missiles available on them, the total stock of missiles of one complex with three starting batteries is 72 anti-ship missiles. Thus, the complex is able to simultaneously launch up to 24 missiles on surface targets, the launch interval in a salvo is 3-5 seconds. After a volley, the complex may change its location. The declared deployment time of the complex at new positions does not exceed 15 minutes.
Currently, the Neptune complex is undergoing a factory test phase. In April and May of the 2019 of the year, in the Odessa region firing of anti-ship missiles P-360 from universal launchers USPU-360 was carried out. Tests are conducted at the state test site of the Armed Forces of Ukraine "Alibey." According to a press release from the state-owned company Ukroboronprom, in May a missile equipped with a homing head was tested. However, the test missile was generally equipped with a homing head, they doubt the specialized military blog bmpd, which is an informal publication published under the auspices of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies. The bmpd blog believes that the launch of the rocket, as in April of the 2019 of the year, was carried out along a predetermined path without pointing the P-360 to a real surface target.
KrAZ trucks for Neptune
The Ukrainian side chose KrAZ trucks as the base for its missile system. At the exhibition in Kiev, the new USPU-360 launchers were demonstrated on the basis of the four-axle KrAZ 7634НЕ chassis with the wheel formula 8х8. As well as the RKP-360 mobile command post and the TZM-360 transport and loading vehicle, the base for which was the well-proven three-axle KrAZ 6322 with the 6x6 wheel arrangement. A distinctive feature of all the vehicles presented is the presence of an armored cockpit, for the development of which the specialists of the Ukrainian Armored Equipment enterprise were responsible. We are talking about armored cabs similar to those that are installed today on Ukrainian wheeled armored vehicles with mine protection SBA "Varta". Reservation of “Varta” provides the crew with protection against small arms fire - up to and including armor-piercing bullets of caliber 7,62x39 mm.
Of greatest interest is the new Ukrainian KrAZ-7634НE chassis. For the first time, this model was introduced only in January 2014 of the year. The car is a four-axle off-road vehicle of a cabless layout with a rather unusual scheme, in which the cab is located in front of the engine. Managed are the first and second axles of the car. The cross-country chassis can be used both in the civilian sector and for military purposes, as a carrier of various weapons systems. In addition to the use of the "Neptune" missile system, it is known about plans to use this off-road chassis as part of the Ukrainian Alder missile system under development. The mounting length of the frame, which is 8080 mm, and high load capacity (at the level of 27 tons) make it possible to install various types of modern weapons on the KrAZ-7634Н chassis.
Initially, it was planned to install the Yaroslavl 8-cylinder diesel engine YaMZ-7511.10 with a power of 400 hp, working with a clutch and gearbox also of Yaroslavl production. However, such a version is likely to remain as an option for cars shipped for export and civilian versions of the car, while the Ukrainian military will switch to cars with foreign engines. In the 2019 year, KrAZ already presented these cars with a more powerful new engine (460-strong) and an automatic gearbox. In particular, KrAZ previously installed Ford-Ecotorq 9.0L 360PS engines and Weichai Chinese engines on three-axle truck models.
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