I have absolutely no idea what this plane is, but it’s wild. I’m a bit skeptical on its flight worthiness, however… Definitely shares a Spruce Goose vibe. 8 jet engines in the front of the plane, and who knows what those torpedo launcher-looking things do.
Ah, the Caspian Sea Monster. I didn’t know about CCCP’s wacky ekranoplans until I played Metal Gear Solid 3 (See, video games can be educational, mom! It’s just a shame it’s taken well over 30 years to have a counterpoint in that argument.)
The Lun-class had anti-ship missiles, not torpedoes, but when your ship is sitting at the bottom of a substantial body of water, the end result is the same. It’s not a proper plane, but a ground effect vehicle that skims over water at an altitude of only a few meters. The end result is they can be huge compared to a fixed wing aircraft, carry a substantial quantity of men and equipment (1000 tons!).
Stumbled across the blog and really enjoying it.
Oh those Russians…
The W.I.G. (wing in ground) effect is simple in theory the air below the wing bounces off the water surface and the bottom of the wing several time increasing the lift dramatically. I’d love to see the footage of this thing in flight.