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Phoenix666 writes:

Russia has posted pictures of a new ground effect vehicle, or ekranoplan. The new design is more modest than the "Caspian Sea Monster" that so alarmed Western intelligence during the Cold War, and can only be seen taxiing.

Ground effect vehicles were pioneered by Russian engineers, and take advantage of the increased lift generated by flying close to a fixed flat surface; ekranoplans were designed to operate optimally 3-6m above sea level. This ruled out use over many terrains, but with vast areas of the Black Sea and Caspian Sea to cover, the Soviet Union had a good reason to invest. It consequently developed enormous ground effect vehicles.

The late Lester Haines told the ekranoplan story here.

The giant vehicles puzzled and alarmed Western intelligence experts, who spotted the distinctive designs from reconnaissance photos and concluded that the craft, although moving at the speed of a conventional aircraft, couldn't actually "fly". Had the Soviets developed some new breakthrough in propulsion?

Actually, the craft could "fly", just not very high. A LUN-class ekranoplan developed in the 1970s bristled with weapons, making it a formidable vehicle for a surprise coastal attack. Only two were ever operational. A smaller design, the A-90 ("Orlyonok"), developed by the Central Hydrofoil Design Bureau, was also designed for attack and adapted to be amphibious.

[...] The new vehicle touted last week is a medium-sized twin turbine design operating on a frozen surface. Russian news agency TASS cited presidential advisor Alexander Bedritsky explaining the value of ground effect vehicles in the Arctic:

Ground effect vehicles, if these are produced, suit the North perfectly. They can fly over the tundra, over the sea surface and over ice. A ground effect vehicle may fly for a thousand kilometres over tundra – there are no trees and no structures.

Conquest of the Arctic to follow?

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