The Office of Advanced Research Projects of the US Department of Defense plans to create a new vehicle based on the Soviet ekranoplan "Lun", nicknamed "sea monster". This is reported on August 27 by Popular Mechanics.
The publication notes that the Pentagon has already received a corresponding order. The need for new transport has arisen due to the fact that traditional air and sea carriers operate with a number of serious restrictions. In particular, cargo ships often take several weeks to reach their destination, and aircraft, as a rule,are small in size and require prepared runways.
According to the author of the article, the new transport, among other things, could be used by the US military to transport cargo to a war zone, assist in search and rescue operations and participate in battles. At the same time, a scenario is allowed when an ekranoplan can be used as a mother ship for unmanned robotic vehicles or for carrying out long-range patrols over the Arctic wastelands.
"Aircraft of the ekranoplan type are able to hover above the Earth's surface at a speed similar to the speed of an airplane. At the same time, the resistance decreases at this height. The ekranoplan takes off from the water, and then hovers over it during the entire flight, " the material says.
In addition, it is noted that one of the Soviet models of the ekranoplan called "Lun" was distinguished by outstanding characteristics, for example, it could cover a distance of 1,700 km with a maximum speed of up to 550 km/h and a load capacity of up to 100 tons. In addition, this model was equipped with serious weapons, and for the 44-meter wingspan, the "Harrier" was dubbed a "flying sea monster".
On August 27, it was reported that Russia will create ship-based drones based on cyclolets. According to the head of the project group of air assets of the Advanced Research Foundation, Yan Chibisov, the existing helicopter equipment no longer meets modern requirements in terms of time and flight range, since it has a flight radius of 200 km, and the flight duration is only three hours.
Earlier, on August 24, the Russian Defense Ministry signed a contract with the Ural Design Bureau of Transport Engineering for the supply of a prototype of the heavy assault robotic complex "Sturm". The contract was signed during the international military-technical forum "Army-2021". The event takes place from 22 to 28 August.