Lun-class ekranoplan

The Lun-class ekranoplan is a ground effect vehicle (GEV) designed by Rostislav Alexeyev in 1975 and used by the Soviet and Russian navies from 1987 until sometime in the late 1990s.[1][2]

MD-160, the sole completed Lun-class ekranoplan
Class overview
Name: Lun
Operators:
In service: 1987–late 1990s
Planned: 2
Building: 0
Completed: 1
Cancelled: 1
Active: 0
Lost: 0
Retired: 1
Preserved: 1
General characteristics
Class and type: Lun
Type: Attack/Transport ground effect vehicle
Displacement: Displacement n/a, weight 286 tonnes unloaded
Length: 73.8 metres (242 ft)
Beam: (Wingspan) 44 metres (144 ft)
Height: 19.2 metres (63 ft)
Draught: (2.5 metres or 8 feet 2 inches)
Propulsion: 8× Kuznetsov NK-87 turbojet engines, 127.4 kN (28,600 lbf) thrust
Speed: 297 kn (550 km/h; 342 mph)
Range: 1,000 nmi (1,900 km; 1,200 mi)
Capacity: 100 tonnes (220,000 pounds)
Complement: six officers and nine enlisted men
Sensors and
processing systems:		 Puluchas search radar
Armament:

It flew using the lift generated by the ground effect of its large wings when within about four metres (13 ft) above the surface of the water. Although they might look similar to regular aircraft, and have related technical characteristics, ekranoplans like the Lun are not aircraft, seaplanes, hovercraft, nor hydrofoils. Rather, "ground effect" is a distinct technology. The International Maritime Organization classifies these vehicles as maritime ships.[3]

The name Lun comes from the Russian word for harrier.[4]

Design and development
The Caspian Sea Monster at Kaspiysk photographed with a KH-8 reconnaissance satellite in 1968. It remained the heaviest Ground effect vehicle in the world throughout its 15-year service life, and served as the basis for Lun's development. Unlike the Lun, the KM featured a constant-chord main wing and a stabilizer with notable dihedral (visible in the image as a difference in brightness between the left and right side of the stabilizer) and an unswept aft trailing edge.
Lun-class at Kaspiysk, Russia, in 2010

The Lun was powered with eight Kuznetsov NK-87 turbofans, mounted on forward canards, each producing 127.4 kN (28,600 lbf) of thrust. It had a flying boat hull with a large deflecting plate at the bottom to provide a "step" for takeoff.[4] It had a maximum cruising speed of 550 kilometres per hour (340 mph).[2]

Equipped for anti-surface warfare, it carried the P-270 Moskit (Mosquito) guided missile. Six missile launchers were mounted in pairs on the dorsal surface of its fuselage with advanced tracking systems mounted in its nose and tail.[5]

The only model of this class ever built, the MD-160, entered service with the Black Sea Fleet in 1987. It was retired in the late 1990s and sat unused at a naval station in Kaspiysk[2][6][7] until 2020.[8]

Another version of Lun was planned for use as a mobile field hospital for rapid deployment to any ocean or coastal location. It was named the Spasatel ("Rescuer"). Work was about 90% done, when the military funding ended, and it was never completed.[3][9]

On 31 July 2020, the only completed MD-160 Lun class ekranoplan was towed from Kaspiysk naval base to Derbent, Dagestan. It will be put on display at the planned Patriot Park.[8] The journey was approximately 100 km (62 miles) across the Caspian Sea; moving the ekranoplan required the use of rubber pontoons, three tugboats and two escort vessels.[10] However, while towing the vessel to its destination, the vehicle got stuck in the sandy beach on the shore of the Caspian Sea just south of the town of Derbent. The vehicle was too heavy to be pulled off the sand and the managing team was not properly equipped, so the ekranoplan was secured and stayed on the beach for next 5 months, becoming a local attraction. Ground works and a new attempt in December 2020, finally resulted in the plane being moved some 20-30m from the sea.

Artist's concept of a Lun-class ekranoplan in flight

Operators
 Russia
 Soviet Union

Specifications

Data from [11]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 15 (6 officers, 9 enlisted)
  • Capacity: 137 t (302,000 lb)
  • Length: 73.8 m (242 ft 2 in)
  • Wingspan: 44 m (144 ft 4 in)
  • Height: 19.2 m (63 ft 0 in)
  • Wing area: 550 m2 (5,900 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 286,000 kg (630,522 lb)
  • Max takeoff weight: 380,000 kg (837,757 lb)
  • Powerplant: 8 × Kuznetsov NK-87 turbofans, 127.4 kN (28,600 lbf) thrust each

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 550 km/h (340 mph, 300 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 450 km/h (280 mph, 240 kn) at 2.5 m (8 ft)
  • Range: 2,000 km (1,200 mi, 1,100 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 5 m (16 ft) in ground effect

Armament

  • Guns: two 23mm Pl-23 cannon in a twin tail turret and two 23mm Pl-23 cannon in a twin turret under forward missile tubes
  • Missiles: six launchers for P-270 Moskit Sunburn antiship missiles

References
  1. Shukla, Vikas (2015-09-09). "Russia Revives Its Soviet-Era Ekranoplan Project". ValueWalk. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  2. Johnson, Robert; Rosen, Armin. "Here's The Astonishing Hovercraft That The Soviets Could Have Used To Invade Western Europe In The 80s". Business Insider. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  3. Liang Yun; Alan Bliault; Johnny Doo (3 December 2009). WIG Craft and Ekranoplan: Ground Effect Craft Technology. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 436–. ISBN 978-1-4419-0042-5.
  4. Flying Magazine. July 1994. pp. 72–. ISSN 0015-4806.
  5. Ashley Hollebone (31 March 2012). The Hovercraft Story. History Press Limited. pp. 33–. ISBN 978-0-7524-8512-6.
  6. Bogodvid, Maksim (27 January 2012). "Russia Revives Production of Flarecraft". RIA Novosti. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  7. Norman Ferguson (1 April 2013). The Little Book of Aviation. History Press Limited. pp. 102–. ISBN 978-0-7524-9285-8.
  8. Cenciotti, David (10 August 2020). "Take A Look At These Incredible Shots Of The Russia's Sole Completed Lun-Class Ekranoplan". The Aviationist. Archived from the original on 2020-10-06. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  9. Fast Ferry International. High-Speed Surface Craft Limited. 2003.
  10. Ros, Miquel (22 October 2020). "The 'Caspian Sea Monster' rises from the grave". CNN. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  11. van Optal, Edwin. "Lun". Netherlands: The WIG Page. pp. The WIG Page Datasheet no. 26. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
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