Russia re-launches its giant tanker program

Russian Radio says Russia is reviving the idea of building a giant air-cushion that combines the advantages of ships and planes.

Under the former Soviet Union, this vehicle has been researched at the design office Rostislav Alexeyev in Nizhny Novgorod on the Volga since 1960.

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In the 1980s, a Caspian Sea operation squadron comprised of three Orlionok amphibious landing craft and a Lun dynamic airliner equipped with six anti-ship missiles.

These can reach speeds of over 400km / h, can fly at altitudes from 10 to 100 meters above sea level and invisible to radar and enemy missiles. NATO calls Lun the Caspian demon.

However, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, the still-researched flying equipment was no longer needed by the navy or air. The program is closed. The only remaining intact Orlionok currently stands on the Moskva River, the Rechnoi vokzal area, while Lun is also put into storage.

However, the current Radar Research and Production Enterprise (MMS) and the Alexeyev Central Design Department (TMS) propose that by 2016, new Ekranoplans with capacities of 50-600 tonnes will be built.

This product is intended for civilian and military use. In the long term, the two partners plan to produce Ekranoplan as a means of transporting cargo and passengers with a lifting capacity of 2-3,000 tonnes.