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The small-size autonomous ekranoplans might have many uses in the civil and military world.



We all remember the Soviet Ekranoplan called the "Caspian sea monster".(1).  The large-size ground-effect plane that planned for fast amphibious, and anti-ship, and anti-submarine platform. There were also other but smaller projects like four A-90 "Orlynok" ekranoplans. Those were in test drive with the Soviet Navy. 

The successor of the "Caspian sea monster" was the "Lun"-class ekranoplan, which was in service from 1988 to the late 1990s. Those ekranoplans or ground-effect (WIG (Wing-In Ground)or GEV (Ground-Effect Vehicles) aircraft planned to make low altitude attacks against the enemy fleet and transport troops so fast that the enemy could not react to those operations. 

There is planned to make ship-size ekranoplans. But those projects remain at the level of drawings. But the small-size ekranoplans can be acting as the sea-skimming cruise missile. The origin of that idea is also in Soviet Navy. The giant Bartini-Beriev VVA-14 (5)officially planned to destroy the enemy surface warships. But there is the possibility that some specialists planned to arm this strange-looking aerial vehicle by using an internal warhead. 



Images: 


Image 1: A-90 "Orlyonok"

Image 2: "Lun"-class ekranoplan

Image 3: Bartini-Beriev VVA-14

That means the remote-control version of the VVA-14 could act as the missile. And those vehicles could arm with large thermonuclear warheads. So that system would be the flying version of Status-6 "Kanyon" torpedo that carries 1-100 mt. internal warheads(6). The ground-effect craft can carry the nuclear torpedo in the internal bomb bay. 


And they can drop those torpedos at the right point. Those systems can also collect nuclear torpedos from the ocean. The nuclear torpedo is a small-size miniature submarine that uses RTG or nuclear battery for patrolling. 

Or the term "nuclear torpedo" means the miniature kamikaze-submarine which is equipped with a nuclear detonator. If those nuclear torpedos are patrolling there should be vehicles that can collect them out of water.  But the same systems can also make kamikaze attacks against the targets. 

 When we are thinking of the small-size ekranoplans they can drop from bombers. And those weapons can fly extremely low altitudes and hit the ships. Or those systems can fly inside the hardened bunkers and detonate inside them. 


Sources and images


(1)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspian_Sea_Monster


(2)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-90_Orlyonok


(3)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lun-class_ekranoplan


(4) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground-effect_vehicle


(5)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartini_Beriev_VVA-14


(6)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Status-6_Oceanic_Multipurpose_System


Image 1:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground-effect_vehicle


Image 2:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lun-class_ekranoplan


Image 3:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartini_Beriev_VVA-14


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