CHILLING pictures have emerged showing China’s terrifying new giant “sea monster” warplane for the first time.
And the wing-in-ground effect (WIG) aircraft, commonly known as an ekranoplan, is a throwback to Soviet military tech from the Cold War era.
For the first time, the mysterious Chinese military plane was spotted in the Bohai Sea – reportedly undergoing testing.
Dubbed the “Bohai Sea Monster” by aviation analysts, the plane was seen floating on blue waters.
Another picture showed the craft partly covered at a naval pier.
The vehicle has a boat-shaped fuselage with a horizontal stabiliser on top of the joined V-shape tail – a common configuration for WIG craft.
It could be used to facilitate rapid coastal transport, resupply missions, or amphibious operations, according to aviation and maritime experts.
China has been flexing its military muscles to intimidate Taiwan, which has hit back with increased drills of its own.
This development follows recent satellite images revealing China’s alarming new invasion vessels, which line up to create a floating bridge. This comes amid a series of military exercises involving China’s army, navy, and missile forces.
The satellite images show three specialised barges, each with two arms of roadway, lining up next to each other.
They connect to form a continuous bridge along which invading ground vehicles such as tanks could trundle ashore.
Huge retractable legs anchor the barges to the seabed like stilts.
What is en ekranoplan?
An ekranoplan, first developed by the Russians, is a military vehicle that resembles a hybrid between an aircraft and a ship.
These vehicles are also known as ground-effect vehicles (GEV), wing-in-ground-effect (WIG) craft, or wingships.
These crafts are engineered to operate at very low altitudes over flat surfaces, typically over water, utilizing an aerodynamic concept known as the ground effect.
An ekranoplan utilises the aerodynamic interaction between the moving wing and the surface below – which could be ground or water.
When a wing moves close to the ground, air pressure on the underside of the wing increases, creating a cushion of air.
This air cushion increases lift and reduces drag, allowing the vehicle to glide just a few meters above the surface.
This is a dynamic air cushion that is created by the forward speed of the craft.
A SOVIET RELIC
Caspian Sea Monster, a 302ft Soviet Sea Monster, was a prime example of an ekranoplan.
The aquatic beast is perhaps one of the weirdest-looking machines ever built, with four engines stacked in a row on each of its wings.
It was bigger than a Boeing 747 and armed to the teeth with missiles, was beyond unique with eight huge jet engines.
The combined ship-aircraft, officially dubbed Korabl Maket, was constructed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It weighed 240 tonnes when unladen, featured a height of 72 feet, a wingspan of 123 feet, and could reach speeds up to 310 mph.
It was an experimental vehicle developed in the 1960s and intended to attack Nato nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers.
It carried six anti-ship missiles in launch tubes at the top of its hull, which could travel up to 60 miles at three times the speed of light.
The machine first entered service in 1966 and was continuously tested by the Soviet Navy, until it crashed in the Caspian Sea in 1980.
It was decommissioned when the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s and lay dormant for more than three decades at Kaspiysk naval base, about 62 miles up the coast from Derbent.
A second Sea Monster was designed for rescue and supply missions and was nearly completed by the early 1990s – but the project was scrapped when the Soviet Union collapsed, at the same time the existing ekranoplan was withdrawn from service.
AMERICA’S ANSWER
The Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Pentagon’s right arm, is building a ground-effect vehicle (GEV) expected to take to the skies from 2027.
Called the Liberty Lifter, the aircraft will be responsible for the transportation of war logistics on a mass scale.
The futuristic plane will be able to transport heavy and bulky equipment way quicker than existing cargo aircraft and ships while covering greater distances.
As an ekranoplan, it will fly low over the ocean surface while fighting a wide range of weather conditions.
It will also be able to fly at high altitudes up to 10,000 feet for short but frequent periods.
Similar to a hovercraft, it will be able to glide over water on a cushion of air, allowing it to be quicker and more efficient.
And its mass size will allow it to stay stable while carrying tonnes of goods.
The DARPA said in a statement: “The Liberty Lifter program is currently designing and will build, float, and fly an affordable and innovative seaplane that can potentially transform fast logistics missions for the DOD and commerce.”
In addition to operating over water, the Liberty Lifter will also be able to cruise over any relatively flat surface, including rivers, deserts – and even snow fields.
The United States considered building ekranoplans during the Cold War just like the Russians.
American spies were once convinced that ekranoplans could be used for laying mines, as well as for anti-submarine warfare and search and rescue operations.
