Is the US building a new ekranoplan?
The Caspian Sea Monster was one of the Soviet Union’s secret projects, designed to fly across the water faster than any ship, thanks to the ground effect. Though the Caspian Sea Monster is dead, its science lives on. Will a new Sea Monster soon dominate the waves?
Using the ground effect, a massive ship could generate lift using air pressure to coast across the waves and travel as fast as an airplane. This was the principle that would have powered the Soviet Union’s secret project, the Caspian Sea Monster. Otherwise known as the Ekranoplan project, the great vehicle now lies abandoned on the coast of the Caspian Sea. But the project’s ambitions weren’t left forgotten.
The Liberty Lifter is the new ground effect vehicle being developed by The US Defense Department’s research arm, DARPA. Like a hovercraft, it travels across the water on a cushion of air made by traveling one wing length above the water, allowing it to move quickly and efficiently. Its massive size keeps it stable, and makes it less vulnerable to the movement of the waves.
Other ground effect vehicles include the Pelican, designed by the Boeing company, and the Spruce Goose, built by the millionaire Howard Hughes as the world’s biggest aircraft in the 1940s.
The Flying Ship Company is also currently developing a smaller ground effect vehicle than the Liberty Lifter. Their goal is to make a more commercially-focused cargo transport, to be used for shorter routes, such as between islands in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.
These projects are still under development, and will not be taking to the air until at least 2027. The future of maritime transportation might be in these ground effect vehicles.
Which one will be the first to take the title of the next Sea Monster?
