Hydrofoils and ekranoplans — a class of high-speed vessels created in Gorky: the Central Design Bureau (TsKB) of Rostislav Alekseev designed the world's first series-production passenger hydrofoils and every Soviet military ekranoplan. The lead ships were built at the Krasnoye Sormovo shipyard; the current series is built at the TsKB's own production site in Chkalovsky District of Nizhny Novgorod Region. Below is the full lineup: series-production vessels, the most important prototypes, and the ekranoplans.
River vessels
| Name | Years | Description |
|---|
| Raketa (hydrofoil) | 1957–1976 | The world's first series-production passenger hydrofoil (Project 340): the lead "Raketa" was built at the Krasnoye Sormovo shipyard in 1957, with series production running at the Feodosia shipyard from 1959. |
| Volga (motorboat) | 1957–1980s | A six-seat pleasure-and-passenger hydrofoil launch (Project 343): the lead boat was built in 1957, produced in series by several Soviet shipyards and exported abroad; it won a gold medal at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. |
| Meteor (hydrofoil) | 1959–1991 | The most numerous series of river hydrofoils (Project 342): the prototype was built in Gorky in 1959, with series production running at the Zelenodolsk Shipyard named after A. M. Gorky from 1961 to 1991. |
| Belarus (ship) | 1966–1970s | A shallow-draft hydrofoil for small rivers with a guaranteed depth of 0.9 m (Project 1709, 40 passengers); built at the Gomel Ship Repair Yard from 1966. |
| Voskhod (ship) | 1973–1992 | Successor to the "Raketa" (Project 352) for 71 passengers; the series was built at the Feodosia "More" production association from 1973 to 1992, with vessels exported to Europe and Vietnam. |
| Polesye (ship) | 1983–1990s | A shallow-draft river hydrofoil for small rivers (Project 17091); built at the Gomel Ship Repair Yard from 1983, with some vessels later operating on the Amur River and in China. |
| Valdai 45R) | since 2017 | A modern shallow-draft river hydrofoil (Project 23180) for 45 passengers; the series is built by the Alekseev TsKB itself at its site in Chkalovsk District of Nizhny Novgorod Region, with the lead vessel launched in 2017. |
| "Meteor 120R"""") | since 2019 | A modern river hydrofoil (Project 03580) for 120 passengers, successor to the "Meteor": the lead vessel was laid down in December 2019 and launched in August 2021 at the Alekseev TsKB's production site in Chkalovsk District. |
Sea vessels
| Name | Years | Description |
|---|
| Kometa (ship) | 1962–1981 | The sea-going version of the "Meteor" (Projects 342M/MT/ME/MS): the lead vessel was built in Poti in 1962, with the series running at the Feodosia "More" shipyard from 1964; widely exported. |
| Nevka (ship) | 1968–1980s | A small shallow-draft hydrofoil (Project 1432) designed by the TsKB for Hydrofoils: a large series — over 160 boats, including export variants — was built at the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard in Leningrad from 1968. |
| Kolkhida (ship) | 1980–1993 | A second-generation sea hydrofoil (Project 10391) for 120 passengers: a series of about 40 vessels was built at the Poti shipyard from 1980, with many later operating in Greece under the name Flying Dolphin. |
| Tsiklon (ship) | 1987 | The only completed second-generation two-deck gas-turbine sea hydrofoil: laid down in 1984, launched at Feodosia in 1987; the second hull was left unfinished. |
| Katran (ship) | 1988–2000s | An upgraded version of the "Kolkhida": built at the Poti shipyard from 1988, and from 1994 at the Volga shipyard in Nizhny Novgorod, including for export. |
| Olympia (ship) | 1993–2002 | A sea hydrofoil of Project 14600 for over two hundred passengers: a small series of four vessels was built at the Feodosia "More" production association from 1993, with the lead ship operating the Tallinn–Helsinki line. |
| Kometa 120M) | since 2013 | A modern sea hydrofoil of Project 23160 designed by the Alekseev TsKB: the lead "Kometa 120M" was laid down in 2013 at the Vympel shipyard in Rybinsk, launched in 2017, and has carried passengers on the Sevastopol–Yalta line since August 2018. |
Ground-effect vehicles (ekranoplans)
| Name | Years | Description |
|---|
| KM | 1966–1980 | The "Caspian Sea Monster" — an experimental ekranoplan with a takeoff weight of up to 544 tonnes, the heaviest aircraft of its time: built in Gorky, launched in June 1966 (first flight in October 1966), tested on the Caspian Sea until its 1980 crash. |
| UT-1 | 1968 | A training ekranoplan built at the TsKB in 1968 to train pilots for the expanding ekranoplan program — practicing takeoff, ground-effect flight, and landing. |
| Orlyonok (ekranoplan) | 1972–1983 | A transport-assault ekranoplan (Project 904): after the 1972 prototype, series-production units were built at the Volga shipyard in Gorky and served in Soviet Navy aviation; a surviving example is displayed at the Navy Museum in Moscow's Tushino district. |
| Lun | 1986–1991 | The only completed missile-strike ekranoplan (Project 903, armed with six "Moskit" anti-ship missiles): built at the Volga shipyard, launched in 1986, and underwent trial operation on the Caspian Sea; the second hull ("Spasatel") was left unfinished, while the "Lun" has stood near Derbent as part of the "Patriot" park since 2020. |
| Volga-2 (ekranoplan) | 1986 | An eight-seat civilian passenger ekranoplan: the prototype was built in 1986 but never entered large-scale series production. |
Experimental prototypes
| Name | Years | Description |
|---|
| Sputnik (ship) | 1961 | The largest river hydrofoil of its time (Project 329, 300 passengers, four M-50 engines): the sole vessel was built in Gorky in 1961, and after being withdrawn from service stood for decades on the embankment in Tolyatti. |
| Vikhr (ship) | 1962 | The sea-going version of the "Sputnik" (Project 330) for 260 passengers, for Black Sea coastal routes; built in a single example. |
| Chaika (vessel) | 1962 | An experimental water-jet hydrofoil for 30 passengers built by Krasnoye Sormovo; during trials it reached a speed of about 100 km/h but never entered series production. |
| Burevestnik (ship) | 1964 | The only river gas-turbine hydrofoil (Project 1708, with two aviation gas-turbine engines): built at Krasnoye Sormovo in 1964, operated on Volga River routes, and decommissioned in 1981. |
| Lastochka (vessel) | 1986 | An experimental second-generation sea hydrofoil, built at the Feodosia "More" shipyard in 1986; never entered series production. |
| SM series | 1961–late 1960s | A series of self-propelled models — SM-1 through SM-8 — on which the TsKB tested the ground effect: SM-1's first flight took place on 21 July 1961 near the test base at Chkalovsk, and SM-2 was demonstrated to Khrushchev in 1962. |
