The US Special Operations Command said they needed an amphibious aircraft. It must have the characteristics of the Russian seaplane Be-200ChS, which is produced at the aircraft factory in Taganrog.
According to Popular Mechanics, the basis for the new amphibian will be to upgrade the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft. It is planned that the aircraft will have a large payload capacity and a range of flight. In addition to transporting commando fighters, the seaplane is planned to be used for servicing submarines.
"In the 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 exit disputed waters, " the publication says.
It should be noted that in July 2020, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation received the first amphibious aircraft Be-200ChS, which was named in honor of the pilot Alexander Mamkin who died in 1944. The aircraft can carry up to 43 people on board. The maximum speed is up to 700 km / h at an altitude of 7000 meters. Practical flight range - 3100 kilometers, ceiling-8100 meters, rate of climb-8 m / s. The crew of the plane is two people.
Nikolay Grishchenko