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Coordinates: 42°52′53″N 47°39′22″E / 42.8815°N 47.6560°E / 42.8815; 47.6560

Lun-class ekranoplan
File:Lun Ekranoplan.jpg
MD-160, the sole Lun-class ekranoplan
Class overview
Name: Lun
Operators: Naval Ensign of the Soviet Union Soviet Navy
Naval Ensign of Russia Russian Navy
In service: 1987 - 1995?-1999?
Completed: One
Retired: One
General characteristics
Class & type: Lun
Type: Ground effect vehicle transport
Displacement: Displacement n/a, weight 286 tonnes unloaded
Length: 73.8 m
Beam: (Wingspan) 44 m
Height: 19.2 m
Draught: (2.5m 8.2ft)
Propulsion:Kuznetsov NK-87 turbojet engines, 127.4 kN (28,600 lbf) thrust
Speed: 297 kn (550 km/h; 342 mph)
Range: 1,000 nmi (1,900 km; 1,200 mi)
Capacity: 100 tonnes (220,000 pounds)
Complement: six officers and nine enlisted men
Sensors and
processing systems:
Puluchas search radar
Armament: Six fixed-elevation SS-N-22 Sunburn antiship missile launchers
4x23 mm PI-23 turrets (2 x 2, 2,400 rounds)
Armour: none
Notes: one built

The Lun-class ekranoplan (NATO reporting name Duck) was a ground effect aircraft designed by Rostislav Evgenievich Alexeev and used by the Soviet and Russian navies from 1987 to sometime in the late 1990s. It flew using the extra lift generated by the effect of its large wings when close to the surface of the water - about four metres or less. Lun was one of the largest seaplanes ever built, with a length of 73 m (240 ft), rivalling the Hughes H-4 Hercules ("The Spruce Goose") and many jumbo jets.

The name Lun comes from the Russian for harrier.

Design and development[]

Lun-class ekranoplan 1

Lun-class at Kaspiysk, Russia, in 2010

Aircraft was powered with eight Kuznetsov NK-87 turbofans, mounted on forward canards, each producing 127.4 kN (28,600 lbf) of thrust. It had a flying boat hull with a large deflecting plate at the bottom to provide a "step" for takeoff.

Equipped for anti-surface warfare, it carried the P-270 Moskit (Mosquito) guided missile. Six missile launchers were mounted in pairs on the dorsal surface of its fuselage with advanced tracking systems mounted in its nose and tail.

The only aircraft of this type ever built, the MD-160, entered service with the Black Sea Fleet in 1987. It became retired in the late 1990s and is now sitting unused at a naval station in Kaspiysk. The Russian Defense Ministry has no plans to revive the project.[1]

Another version of Lun was planned for use as a mobile field hospital for rapid deployment to any ocean or coastal location. It was named the Spasatel ("Rescuer"). Work was about 90% done, when the military funding ended, and it was never completed.

Operators[]

Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union
Flag of Russia Russia

Specifications[]

Data from [2]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 15 (6 officers, 9 enlisted)
  • Capacity: 137 t (302,000 lb)
  • Length: 73.8 m (242 ft 2 in)
  • Wingspan: 44 m (144 ft 4 in)
  • Height: 19.2 m (63 ft 0 in)
  • Wing area: 550 m2 (5,900 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 286,000 kg (630,522 lb)
  • Max takeoff weight: 380,000 kg (837,757 lb)
  • Powerplant: 8 × Kuznetsov NK-87 turbofans, 127.4 kN (28,600 lbf) thrust each

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 550 km/h (342 mph; 297 kn)
  • Cruising speed: 450 km/h (280 mph; 243 kn) at 2.5 m (8 ft)
  • Range: 2,000 km (1,243 mi; 1,080 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 7,500 m (24,606 ft) or 5 m (16 ft) in ground effect

Armament

  • Guns: two 23mm Pl-23 cannon in a twin tail turret and two 23mm Pl-23 cannon in a twin turret under forward missile tubes
  • Missiles: six launchers for SS-N-22 Sunburn antiship missiles

Related development[]

References[]

  1. Bogodvid, Maksim (27 January 2012). "Russia Revives Production of Flarecraft". http://en.rian.ru/military_news/20120127/170987800.html. Retrieved 14 July 2013. 
  2. van Optal, Edwin. "Lun". Netherlands: The WIG Page. pp. The WIG Page Datasheet no. 26. http://www.se-technology.com/wig/index.php. Retrieved 9 June 2012. 

External links[]

Warning: Display title "<i>Lun</i> class ekranoplan" overrides earlier display title "<i>Lun</i>-class ekranoplan".

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The original article can be found at Lun-class ekranoplan and the edit history here.
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