The United States wanted to convert the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft into a seaplane that resembles the Russian Be-200 Altair, writes Popular Mechanics.
The magazine writes that such an aircraft will have a large payload capacity and range, and will also allow for work at sea, in particular, with submarines. The publication recalls that the US military after the withdrawal of the P5M Marlin from service in the 1950s did not use seaplanes for decades.
"In any future conflict, the most important battlefields will be waterways such as the South China Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk, the Baltic Sea, the Yellow Sea, and the Persian Gulf. A seaplane would help prevent such conflicts if potential adversaries knew that American commandos could enter and leave disputed waters with impunity, " the magazine claims.
According to the publication, currently, in addition to Russia, such equipment is produced by China, which has, in particular, the AG600 seaplane.
In July 2020, the world's largest operational seaplane, the AG600, successfully completed its first flight over the sea.
In September 2019, Izvestia reported, citing sources in the Russian Defense Ministry and the aviation industry, that the country's Navy will receive an A-42 (A-40) "Albatross", designed to detect and track enemy submarines, as well as conduct rescue operations during a storm.
Ivan Potapov
