Launcher units of the Neptune missile complex have taken on a new role: they will now launch Areion drone-missiles with a range of up to 600 kilometers. The decision is pragmatic — instead of building separate infrastructure for new weapons, engineers adapted already-deployed complexes.

Neptune is primarily known as an anti-ship weapon — it was used to strike the Moskva cruiser in April 2022. Areion is fundamentally different: a long-range kamikaze strike drone operating on cruise missile principles. The use of the same launcher units for both systems means that the same crew can potentially switch between targeting a sea target and a ground object deep in enemy territory.

Unification of launcher platforms is standard practice in modern weapons design. The US does this with Mk 41 vertical launching systems, which "fire" both air defense missiles and Tomahawk cruise missiles. For Ukraine, this is particularly relevant: each separate infrastructure unit represents a separate target and separate logistics costs.

Meanwhile, publicly available details about Areion's combat characteristics — accuracy, warhead type, resistance to electronic warfare — remain minimal. The 600 km range is a stated specification that cannot be verified under real conditions openly at this time.

If Areion truly achieves its stated parameters in combat use, the entire network of already-deployed Neptune systems transforms into potential launch points deep into Russia — but will serial production be sufficient to make this possibility a real threat rather than a demonstration slide?