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Russia expects to get 300-tonne capacity ground effect vehicle by 2020

"We are creating this platform with the prospect for new engines, which will be created in 2018-2020," the Russian naval aviation chief said

Ground effect vehicle (archive) ITAR-TASS/Grigoriy Sysoev

Ground effect vehicle (archive)

© ITAR-TASS/Grigoriy Sysoev

ZHUKOVSKY (Moscow region), August 26. /TASS/. Russia’s Defense Ministry expects to receive by 2020 a new ram wing surface effect vehicle with the carrying capacity of up to 300 tonnes, chief of Russia’s naval aviation Major General Igor Kozhin told reporters on Wednesday.

"I think by 2020 we will get a real platform, which will be operated quite efficiently ... it will lift up to 240-300 tonnes. It’s a rather practicable craft," Kozhin said at a roundtable discussion on the development of ram wing surface effect vehicles, within the framework of the MAKS-2015 international aviation and space show that opened in the town of Zhukovsky outside Moscow on Tuesday.

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Russia's Naval Aviation in pictures

According to him, the Russian Navy currently has a concept for the development of ram wing surface effect vehicles, envisaging the creation of the basic platform that "will be able to move from point A to point B, and then it is planned to equip it with weapons." He said that ekranoplans are sea and ocean vehicles and can hardly be used on rivers.

According to Kozhin, the Alexeyev Central Design Bureau is engaged in the creation of this platform.

"We are creating this platform with the prospect for new engines, which will be created in 2018-2020," the naval aviation chief said. He added that the new ram wing surface effect vehicle will have fewer engines than the existing samples of the ram wing craft, as the new engines will have better thrust-weight ratio and higher efficiency.

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Russian defense industry MAKS-2015

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