"KM" (Layout ship) "Caspian Monster" is an experimental ekranoplan developed in the design bureau of R. E. Alekseev.
History of creation: in 1964 - 1965, the design and creation of a unique,

the world's largest aircraft - the KM ekranoplan, which received the name "Caspian monster" from foreign special services.
This is how the Americans deciphered the letters KM - mock-up ship - on

board of the ekranoplan. The chief designer of this ekranoplan was R. E. Alekseev, the leading designer was V. P. Efimov.

The ekranoplan had a wingspan of 37.6 m, a length of about 100 m, and a maximum takeoff weight of 544 tons. Before the appearance of the An-225 Mriya aircraft, it was the heaviest aircraft in the world.

KM - was a promising vehicle for the military and rescuers, but its design caused many difficulties. According to the documents, the ekranoplan passed like a ship (during the first test, a bottle of champagne was broken on it and the USSR Naval flag was hoisted on it, and belonged to the Navy, since the screen effect acts at a height of several meters.

Structurally, it resembled an amphibian (type boat). The experimental apparatus was controlled by test pilots.

Tests

In 1966, the KM entered the tests, which were carried out at a specially created test and delivery station on the Caspian Sea in the Kaspiysk region (Dagestan).

In the first test flight, the KM ekranoplan was piloted by V. F. Loginov and R. E. Alekseev. Further tests were carried out by leading test pilots D. T. Garbuzov and V. F. Troshin. All these works were carried out in the system of the Ministry of the shipbuilding industry.

KM tests took place in the Caspian for 15 years until 1980. In 1980, due to a pilot error, the KM crashed, there were no casualties. After that, operations to restore or build a new instance were not carried out.

Tactical and technical characteristics

Wingspan: 37.60 m.

Tail span: 37.00 m.

Length: 92.00 m.

Height: 21.80 m.

Wing area: 662.50 m².

Weight of the empty ekranoplan: 240,000 kg.

Maximum takeoff weight: 544,000 kg.

Engine type: 10 turbojet engines VD-7.

Thrust: 10 x 13000 kgf.

Maximum speed: 500 km/h.

Cruise speed: 430 km/h.

Practical range: 1500 km.

Flight height on the screen: 4-14 m.

Seaworthiness: 3 points.

MOSCOW. 18 Sep— RIA Novosti, Andrey Stanavov. The roar of powerful aircraft engines, a wall of spray and a multi-ton machine gliding over the water at an incredible speed of up to 500 kilometers per hour: the production of multi-purpose ekranoplanes is reviving in Russia. Industry design bureaus are already working on projects, and both light and heavy multi-purpose machines are being created. High carrying capacity, economy and the ability to cover huge distances in a matter of hours make ekranoplanes indispensable for solving a wide range of tasks, including combat ones. About why this technique is so interesting to the military and what promising ekranoplans are capable of - in the material of RIA Novosti.

Flying on the waves

In terms of its capabilities, the ekranoplan is between ships and aircraft, combining their best qualities. The "screen effect" is to create an "air cushion" between the body / wings of the machine and the surface of the water due to the oncoming flow. Rising above the sea, the device acquires stability and the ability to "glide" with minimal fuel consumption. At the same time, instead of the sea below, there can be any other flat surface - an ice field, snow or steppe.

In terms of efficiency and carrying capacity, ekranoplanes outperform airplanes and helicopters, and in terms of speed, they outperform hydrofoils. From a military point of view, these machines are good for their invisibility to radar. The device flying at low altitude is invisible to enemy radars, while the lack of contact with water excludes detection by sonar and the likelihood of running into a mine.

The main developer of such equipment in Russia is traditionally the Alekseev Central Design Bureau in Nizhny Novgorod, the leading Soviet and Russian enterprise for the design of ekranoplans, hydrofoils, air cavity ships, hovercraft, and boats. The bureau is engaged in a whole line of "winged ships", among which is the heavy ocean-going A-050 "Chaika-2", capable of reaching speeds of up to 450 kilometers per hour and covering a distance of up to five thousand kilometers.

The take-off weight of the device will be 54 tons, and the carrying capacity will be nine tons, or 100 passengers, who, if necessary, can always be replaced by marines or special forces. Presumably, the R-195 will be used as starting engines (as on the Su-25 attack aircraft), and the propulsion engines - TV-7-117 (as on the Il-114). According to the developers, "Chaika-2" will take off by 2022 - the preliminary design has been successfully completed and now work is underway on the technical appearance.

The vehicle will be equipped with Russian avionics and a modern navigation and flight system, it will be able to independently navigate an unequipped coastline with a five-degree slope, and be based on water and airfields. According to the declared characteristics, the ekranoplan is ideal for the Federal Border Service, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the FSO, patrolling the near coastal zone as part of the Russian Navy.

In addition, the Alekseev Design Bureau is working on the creation of an even heavier machine - the A-080 Chaika-3 multi-purpose transport ekranoplan with a take-off weight of 100 tons.

Fit for service

Despite the fact that the dual purpose of such equipment is not advertised, it is obvious that the Ministry of Defense will not leave it unattended. In particular, the head of the shipbuilding department of the Russian Navy, Captain First Rank Vladimir Tryapichnikov, let slip at one of the exhibitions that the item "Development of ekranoplanes" would be included in the shipbuilding program until 2050.

The management of the "Morinformsystem-Agat" concern has been repeatedly announced about carrying out a whole range of research works in order to "fit" ekranoplanes into the fleet management system of the future. In particular, "Chaika-2" was called very "promising for the Ministry of Defense" and it was proposed to equip it with BrahMos cruise anti-ship missiles, thereby turning it into a high-speed strike combat complex. It is curious that China became interested in the Seagulls, which in 2015 even initiated negotiations with Russia on the acquisition of several vehicles for the People's Liberation Army.

Flying destroyer

It is known that in the USSR ekranoplans have already been adapted for the delivery of paratroopers and missiles, and very successfully. Perhaps the brightest pages in the history of domestic combat ekranoplane construction were projects 903 "Lun" and 904 "Eaglet". The fates of the landing "Eaglet" and the shock "Lun" ("Caspian Monster") are equally tragic - the collapse of the USSR and the lack of money practically destroyed this type of weapon without a fight.

The giant "Lun" caused awe in the West as soon as the secret machine with strange "unearthly" outlines was photographed by American spy satellites. The semi-aircraft-semi-ship had incredible dimensions (length 73 meters, height 19 meters), a fantastic speed of 500 km / h and carried six launch containers with heavy ZM-80 Moskit anti-ship missiles. The Lun could destroy a US aircraft carrier group with one salvo and was comparable in striking power to a full-fledged missile cruiser, only moving ten times faster. The ekranoplan made its first flight in 1985 on the Caspian Sea.

“The theme of ekranoplans never went beyond the experimental,” former deputy commander-in-chief of the Navy Igor Kasatonov told the Zvezda TV channel earlier. The admiral found both ships when he commanded the Black Sea Fleet of the USSR, to which the Caspian Monsters were assigned. in reliability. In addition, it was not possible to combine the concept of the cost of the project, its effectiveness and expediency, which later determined the fate of the ships. "

The landing "Eaglet" was smaller in size, had a bow that folded to one side and was intended for the rapid transportation of troops and equipment - it could accommodate up to 150 soldiers or two infantry fighting vehicles. It began to be created long before Lun, in the late 60s. For military tests, three "Eaglets" were built, which since 1979 were enlisted in the Navy.

In August 1967, an American spy satellite transmitted sensational images to earth. They depicted a huge machine that looked like an airplane. It was 100 meters long, weighed about 500 tons and flew over the waters of the Caspian Sea at a speed of more than 500 km per hour. Analysts from the Pentagon called this object the "Caspian Monster". The appearance of such a machine made the Soviet Union a maritime superpower. A film about the history of the creation of the KM ekranoplan and the development of this project today.

The government of the Russian Federation instructed the Russian Central Design Bureau named after Alekseev in the next few years to resume the production of ekranoplans, which ceased in the early 1990s. It is planned to resume design and development work in two stages, the last of which will begin in 2012. However, when exactly the new “Caspian monster” will appear in Russia, experts do not yet say.

Designer of the "Caspian Monster" Rostislav Alekseev

According to the Alekseev Central Design Bureau, design and research work will be carried out during 2010-2011. Since 2012, the second, longer stage will begin, during which development work will take place, and the creation of a prototype of a large ekranoplan will begin. According to the head of the quality department of the Central Design Bureau Alekseev Evgeny Meleshko, "most of the company's specialists will work on this topic."
At the beginning of 2007, the then Minister of Defense Sergei Ivanov announced the need to revive the ekranoplane construction industry.

At the same time, he announced that a targeted state program would be created, within the framework of which the production of ships using the screen effect would be launched in Nizhny Novgorod. That is, it was just about the Alekseev Central Design Bureau, located in Nizhny Novgorod. How much the government intends to invest in the revival of the ekranoplan building industry is still unknown. However, one can only rejoice that in the conditions of the financial and economic crisis, money for the work was still found.

Flying ships.

The ekranoplan belongs to the class of sea vessels, since it is able to move in close proximity to the surface - up to two or three tens of meters (this value largely depends on the size of the ship). Such an apparatus is capable of gliding over the water or land surface, using the ground effect, in which the lifting force is provided by the oncoming air flow, which builds up pressure under the ship. Most often, ekranoplans are used above the water surface, since, unlike the earth's surface, it is more uniform in height.

Ekranoplanes compare favorably with conventional ships in that they are capable of speeds up to 250 knots (460 kilometers per hour), and their movement is practically unlimited - seas, rivers, swamps, snow, ice and even land can serve to create a "screen". In addition, unlike airplanes, ekranoplanes are more tenacious, economical and capable of taking on board large loads. At the same time, such devices do not need coastal infrastructure - for landing, it is enough for them to have only a suitable water area or land area.

Ekranoplan "Lun"

Until a certain time, seaworthiness was a serious limitation of ekranoplans, which, as a rule, did not exceed three points (wave height up to 0.6 meters), however, with the creation of the Lun percussion apparatus, the weather boundaries for using ships moved apart. The ekranoplan "Lun" could move on the "screen" with sea waves up to six points (with wave heights up to 4-6 meters).

Scheme of ekranoplan "Lun"

For the military, such vessels are of particular interest, since they allow the transfer of cargo and troops, and faster than on ships. At the same time, due to low-altitude flight, ekranoplans are practically invisible to radars, and are also immune to anti-ship mines. Ekranoplanes are a separate type of ekranoplans - the same devices, but with more elongated wings, thanks to which they can “break away” from the screen and switch to airplane mode, rising to a height of up to six thousand meters.

In our country, the production of ekranoplans began in 1957 and almost completely stopped in the early 1990s. During this time, about 30 such devices were built, which were used in the interests of the Ministry of Defense. The most famous ships are the ekranoplanes "Eaglet" and the impact ekranoplan-missile carrier "Lun". The latter was built in a single copy and enlisted in the Black Sea Fleet (decommissioned in the 1990s).

Ekranolet "Eaglet"

The Eaglets, developed by the Alekseeva Central Design Bureau in the early 1970s, were capable of reaching speeds of up to 500 kilometers per hour and transporting troops and cargo over a distance of up to 1,500 kilometers. The device was intended primarily for transporting 200 fighters and two armored vehicles. A distinctive feature of the "Eaglet" was the ability to switch to airplane mode, as well as to land not only on water, but also on land, which greatly facilitated landing operations.

In turn, the Lun, also created by the Alekseev Central Design Bureau, was able to move at speeds up to 500 kilometers per hour for a distance of up to two thousand kilometers. The device was armed with six ZM-80 Moskit supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles.

Ekranoplan "Caspian monster"

In the 1960s, the Alekseeva Central Design Bureau created and tested an experimental ekranoplan on the Caspian Sea, dubbed the “Caspian Monster” by Western intelligence services - this is how intelligence deciphered the abbreviation “KM” (Layout Ship) on board the ship. The ekranoplan had a wingspan of 37.6 meters, a length of about one hundred meters, and a maximum takeoff weight of 544 tons. The tests were carried out for 15 years. In 1980, the prototype ship crashed and sank, after which the project was closed. According to various versions, the reason for this was the conflict between the developer - Rostislav Alekseev - and the Minister of the Shipbuilding Industry of the USSR Boris Butoma.

Scheme of the ekranoplan "Caspian monster"

The cause of the catastrophe of the "Caspian Monster" was the pilot's error, which, during takeoff, raised the nose of the ekranoplan too high, as a result of which the car went up almost vertically. To remedy the situation, the pilot lowered the thrust of the engines and erroneously actuated the elevator, as a result of which the KM fell on the left wing, hit the water and drowned. According to the designers and testers, the "Caspian Monster" was very tenacious and "it was necessary to do something out of the ordinary to ruin it."

In the armed forces of Russia, ekranoplans were planned to be used in landing operations, for the delivery of goods, as well as for anti-submarine and anti-ship purposes. Also known is the project of Robert Bartini to create a strategic ekranolet-bomber A-57. There were projects of ekranoplanes-aircraft carriers, as well as ships capable of serving as a launch and landing site for space shuttles of the Buran type.

Currently, developments in the field of ekranoplane construction in Russia are being carried out by private companies at their own expense. In 2000, the Sukhoi Design Bureau introduced the S-90 ekranolet, capable of carrying up to 4.5 tons of cargo at an altitude of 0.5 to 4000 meters. The flight range of the device is about three thousand kilometers. The Arctic Trade and Transport Company is engaged in the production of five-seat passenger ekranoplans Aquaglide-5, and the Moscow NPK Trek produces the Ivolga ekranoplanes. The latter are already accepted for service in the Ministry of Emergency Situations. In the Alekseeva Central Design Bureau itself, the Volga-2, Rocket-2 and Swift ekranoplanes are being produced today.

Ekranolet S-90

The Be-2500 Neptune project of the Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex named after Beriev deserves special attention. Within the framework of the project, a super-heavy seaplane-ekranolet with a carrying capacity of up to thousands of tons is being created. The wingspan of such a device will be 125 meters, and the length of the fuselage - 115 meters. In screen mode, he will be able to reach speeds of up to 450 kilometers per hour, and in airplane mode - up to 750 kilometers per hour. The flight range of the device will be about 16 thousand kilometers.

Project Bu-2500 "Neptune"

Abroad: catch up and overtake Russia!

It is curious that many foreign companies are currently conducting their own developments in the field of ekranoplans, using Soviet developments. So, in the 1990s, with the permission of the State Committee for the Defense Industry and the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Alekseeva Central Design Bureau organized an excursion for American specialists to the base in Kaspiysk, where the Orlyonok ekranoplan was prepared for departure. Western specialists were allowed to take photos and videos. The cost of such an excursion was about two hundred thousand dollars.

In addition to military applications, ekranoplans today can be useful in the civilian field. In particular, the international routes of such devices will be much shorter than those used by railways or ships. Ekranoplanes will also be useful in rescue operations, since ordinary ships do not have a sufficiently high speed, and helicopters have a small capacity. In the northern regions of the country, ekranoplanes will make it possible to organize year-round cargo transportation.

Currently, several private companies producing two-seat passenger vehicles are engaged in the creation of ekranoplans in the United States. In 2004, the Boeing concern began the implementation of the Pelican project, within which it is planned to build the world's largest ekranoplan. Its wingspan will be 152 meters, and the length of the fuselage will be 122 meters. The device will be able to reach speeds of up to 240 knots (445 kilometers per hour) and carry cargo weighing up to 1.2 thousand tons, for example, 17 M1 Abrams tanks and troops. The flight range of the ekranoplan will be about 16 thousand kilometers.

Project Pelican

In Taiwan, the development of ekranoplans began thanks to the former designer of the Alekseev Central Design Bureau, Dmitry Sinitsyn, who in 1992 went to work for the Taiwanese company Amphistar. Under the terms of the contract of employment, Sinitsyn received funding, and in exchange he transferred patents and rights to the vehicles being created to the company. In the event of termination of funding, all rights and patents were returned to the designer. Currently produced Amphistar devices are capable of speeds up to 150 kilometers per hour and fly over a distance of up to 600 kilometers.

China is also developing its own developments, which has already created the Tianyi-1 civil ekranoplan. This ekranoplan made its first flight in 1998, and since 2000 it went on open sale. In addition to it, the Tianxiang-2 cargo-passenger vehicle was also created and a 50-seat Tianxiang-5 is being created. Japan, South Korea, Germany, New Zealand and Australia are also conducting research in the field of ekranoplane construction. South Korea is expected to test its own device in 2012.

The revival of ekranoplane construction for Russia today is a matter of prestige, if you do not take into account the benefits that the use of ekranoplanes will bring. The USSR was the only state in the world that developed and built ekranoplanes. Russia also still ranks first in terms of the amount of developed technologies in the field of "screen" ships. Especially when it comes to large cargo-lifting vessels. But this state of affairs, without serious intervention, may change in the coming years.

At a speed of more than 500 kilometers per hour, it flies over the very surface of the water, like a hovercraft. It can take off like an airplane and sail like a ship. The ekranoplan is an ideal vehicle for landing and lightning attacks. Russia again plans to produce these expensive but effective weapons.

In the 90s of the last century, Russia closed the project for the production of ekranoplans due to lack of funding and general chaos. Now the "Caspian Monster" and its brethren are returning to the stage.

A 60-ton model has already been born, and at the same time, work began on the creation of a 500-ton machine, according to the leadership of the Russian Navy. Production should start after 2020 in Nizhny Novgorod. Thanks to such ekranoplanes as the Orlyonok, Lun, Volga-2 and, above all, the KM, the Caspian Monster, Russia is the largest manufacturer of this remarkable type of equipment, aircraft, hovercraft and ship in one. But this does not mean that Russia is the only one who creates them.

Ideal for landing

Russia began the development of ekranoplanes in the 60s of the last century. In Soviet times, the group of Rostislav Alekseev was engaged in their design. The ekranoplan seemed to be a promising military technology. It moved a few meters above the surface of the water, like conventional hovercraft, and thanks to the dynamic ground effect, it could reach speeds of up to 500 kilometers per hour. For short distances, he could rise to the flight altitude of a conventional aircraft. Simply put, at speeds up to 70 km / h (38 knots) it behaved like a ship, around 100 km / h - like a hovercraft, and when the speed reached more than 150 km / h, it took off into the air like an ordinary airplane.

These characteristics turned the ekranoplan into a potentially ideal vehicle for landing operations. The Second World War was still alive in memory, as were the successes of the Western Allies, as well as the Japanese, who, by the way, were among the first to design special landing ships. On the other hand, the Soviet military command was well aware that its own landing operations during World War II were not crowned with brilliant success, and in the case of landing on the territory of the collapsing Japanese monarchy, objectively speaking, it was a fiasco.

Due to the flight height of up to 10 meters above the surface, the ekranoplan managed to bypass mines and obstacles. At the same time, he was invulnerable to torpedoes and anti-aircraft shells and anti-ship missiles fired from the ground. Almost only high-precision cruise missiles could hit him - so, at least, the designers believed, who, as always in the USSR, were full of optimism, reaching naivety. This also applied to the assumption that the ekranoplan would be practically imperceptible to radar technology. Perhaps this was the case with Soviet radars, but it is completely unclear how the ekranoplan, with its dimensions, would have behaved with Western radars of that time.

"Monster from the Caspian Sea"

The Soviet Navy began construction of the first real ekranoplan in 1963. At the shipyard "Volga" near Nizhny Novgorod, construction began on the ekranoplan KM (Layout Ship), which was supposed to be a full-scale model of the future combat ekranoplan. It was a huge machine with a body length of 90 m and a takeoff weight of 544 tons. At that time it was the largest aircraft in the world.

In the "Caspian Monster", as the car began to be called, the experience of testing experimental SM ekranoplans was used. Conceptually, it was a mid-wing T-tail, equipped with two Dobrynin VD-7 engines with a thrust of 107.8 kN, which were located on both sides of the vertical tail surface. The optimal flight altitude ranged from 4-14 meters above sea level, cruising speed was 430 km / h, and the maximum - 500 km / h. During summer testing, the KM demonstrated good stability and controllability.

Despite its impressive size, this ekranoplan could perform surprisingly sharp turns with a large slope, during which the tip of the wing on the inside of the turn touched the surface of the water.

As a result of many years of testing, the KM was rebuilt several times - the last time in 1979. This change was due, on the one hand, to the severe wear of aircraft engines and boosters, and on the other hand, to the need to test new engines for the future Lun combat ekranoplan. The last re-equipment was also because a year later the KM became a victim of an accident.

"Lun"

“The history of the Lun ekranoplan, the only one that had offensive weapons, began in 1970, when the Central Design Bureau for Hydrofoils. Alekseev (Central Design Bureau for SPK named after R. E. Alekseev) received an order to develop an ekranoplan armed with anti-ship cruise missiles capable of reaching speeds of 500 km / h, ”publicist Radek Panhartek talks about the birth of Luni.

The goal of the designers was to create a tool capable of attacking large objects on the surface of the sea or small sea groups and caravans of ships in fast flight at low altitude. The offensive weapon was an arsenal of six 3M80 Mosquito anti-ship cruise missiles. Given the size of the missile containers, the only place to place them could be the upper part of the WIG hull. This caused its design limitations. All eight Kuznetsov NK-87 bypass engines with a thrust of 127.4 kN were placed on a small pylon just behind the cockpit. After reaching the flight altitude and speed, only two engines remained in operation, while the others were turned off. Boosters were turned on only when accelerating or overcoming obstacles.

To protect the ekranoplan at the stern and under the first pair of missile containers, artillery installations UKU-9K-502-11 were installed - the same as on the Il-76 aircraft.

The tests were carried out on the Caspian Sea in 1990-1991 by the 11th air group, subordinate to the command of the Black Sea Fleet. Part of the test was also the use of Mosquito cruise missiles.

After 1992, ekranoplan flights were very limited due to financial problems. "Lun" stood at the base in Kaspiysk and gradually fell into disrepair. In 1998, by decision of the Chief of Staff of the Navy, the 11th separate air group was reorganized into the Air Base for the Preservation of the Ekranoplan, which mothballed the Lun ekranoplane and was engaged in its storage.

This could have been the end of the story of ekranoplans, a promising technology that simply proved too technologically complex and too costly to be sustained by the faltering post-Soviet economy.

The change has come due to the political and geopolitical dynamics of Vladimir Putin's administration. The appetites directed to the Black Sea corridor in the Mediterranean, in a certain sense, continued the plans that the Soviet Navy associated with ekranoplanes. After all, Soviet ekranoplans were created just for use in inland seas. Transport ekranoplanes "Eaglet" were called upon by an unexpected landing of the Marine Corps to blockade the entrances or exits from the inland seas - primarily from the Black Sea through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles.

In this case, the Lun missile ekranoplan was supposed to cover their operations from attacks from enemy ships or destroy patrols of large groups of ships, thereby opening the way for larger formations of the Navy.

And this role could be played by the vehicles that the Russian Navy wants to put into service after 2020. Other uses of these funds are also being considered. Once in Siberia, Burevestnik-24, a civilian transport and rescue ekranolet, was tested. And it is highly likely that Russian design bureaus are also developing plans for ocean-going military ekranoplanes. They would be a response to the Pelican, Boeing's WIG concept that hasn't been reported since 2002, but that doesn't mean development isn't going on. By the way, ekranoplanes are gaining popularity outside of their Russian ancestral home. For example, Iran formed several parts of these weapons-equipped vehicles, demonstrating them at a military parade in 2010.

The ekranoplans are called Bavar 2, and they are small. But for the sake of completeness, we note that since then there has been no information about Iranian ekranoplanes. By itself, this means nothing, although perhaps Iran has the same problems that Russia had. After high expectations - a lot of difficulties and eventually disappointment.

But no one can say that the ekranoplan will end its days among other oddities, of which there have been many in military history. At least until the project is completed, over which engineers at shipyards in Nizhny Novgorod are racking their brains today.

The first model - KM (model ship, as it was called in the Central Design Bureau), built in 1966, was equipped with 10 turboprop engines: eight of them were located on the wings and two on the tail of the aircraft. The weight of the machine was 544 tons, length - 92 meters, height - 22 meters, wingspan - 37 meters.
At that time it was the largest aircraft in the world. However, according to the documents, the KM was not listed as an aircraft, but as a ship and belonged to the Navy, since the screen effect acted only at a height of several meters. Outwardly, it resembled an amphibious submarine. It was controlled, however, not by sea captains, but by test pilots.
All information about the KM was kept secret. On June 22, 1966, before dawn, the apparatus was launched from the Volga pier. Then, for almost a month, under a camouflage net and in a semi-submerged state, it was towed along the Volga from Gorky to Kaspiysk, where a special test station was built. For reasons of secrecy, towing took place only at night.
Tests have shown that in order to take off from the water, it is necessary to accelerate the ekranoplan to a speed of 350 kilometers per hour. The first flight took place over the Caspian Sea at a height of four meters. It lasted 50 minutes. It was him who was recorded by a spy satellite.
CM was tested for about 15 years. On February 9, 1980, its designer Rostislav Alekseev died, and in the same year there was a disaster with the Caspian Monster. During takeoff, the pilot lifted the nose of the car too sharply, as a result of which it began to rise up at high speed and in an almost vertical position. The pilot decided to lose thrust and violated the instructions by using the elevator. The ship-airplane fell on the left wing and hit the water. The pilot survived, but the car was disabled. Since the operation to raise the apparatus was not performed, it sank a week later.