The Lun-class missile-carrying ekranoplan «Lun» was a Soviet strike combat ekranoplan of Project 903, developed at the Alekseev Central Hydrofoil Design Bureau (CHDB) (Nizhny Novgorod) under the direction of V. N. Kirillovykh. It was built at the Nizhny Novgorod Volga experimental plant and is the only fully completed ship of the eight originally planned for Project 903.[3] Under NATO classification it was designated Utka, with hull number S-31.[3]
Creation and history
The precondition for the creation of the «Lun» was the many years of work by the Nizhny Novgorod Central Hydrofoil Design Bureau under Rostislav Alekseev on the experimental «KM» ekranoplan (the «Caspian Sea Monster»), which made its first flight in October 1966 and sank in 1980 after a landing by an inexperienced pilot. Over fifteen years of testing the «KM», the design bureau amassed an extensive body of research that allowed it to fulfil the Soviet Navy's order for a Ekranoplan in a short timeframe.[2]
The «Lun» made its first flight in 1985; according to other data, from a source that gives an earlier date, in 1987.[1][2] In 1990 the craft was put into service.[2] Flight trials on the Caspian Sea lasted 5–6 hours along the route.[1]
Design and specifications
The ekranoplan was intended to strike surface ships of up to 20,000 tonnes displacement — within carrier strike groups, amphibious formations and convoys — beyond the reach of enemy aviation, including AWACS aircraft.[3] Thanks to its high speed and low visibility to ship-borne radar, the «Lun» could covertly close on targets to missile-launch range.[3]
The craft was armed with six «Moskit» anti-ship missiles and reached speeds of up to 500 km/h over the water's surface.[2] Its powerplant comprised eight NK-87 engines with 13,000 kgf of thrust each.[1] Main dimensions: length — 73.80 m, wingspan — 44.00 m, height — 19.20 m; wing area — 550 m²; normal take-off weight — 243,000 kg, maximum — 380,000 kg; range — 2,000 km; crew — 10.[1]
Nizhny Novgorod connection
The «Lun» is a direct continuation of the Nizhny Novgorod school of ekranoplan design founded by Rostislav Alekseev. Design and construction were carried out at facilities linked to the Central Hydrofoil Design Bureau, which was based in Nizhny Novgorod (then Gorky). The ekranoplan became the culmination of Volga (disambiguation) and continued on the Caspian.[2][3]
Eight units were planned for Project 903, but series production was never launched. The second hull of the series was to be converted into a search-and-rescue variant («Spasatel»), but work was halted by the early 1990s.[3] The sole completed «Lun» was withdrawn from the fleet and later moved to Derbent, where it became an exhibit at a patriotic-themed park.[3]
Sources
- Wikipedia (ru) — Lun (ekranoplan) (archive)
- Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — Flight of the ekranoplan: how Rostislav Alekseev's invention thundered around the world (archive)
- airwar.ru (archive)