prev
next
Preview
Metadata Image
AssetID : 37781293
Headline : Secret Russian seaplane bigger than a jumbo jet now a beached 'museum'
Caption : These jaw-dropping aerial and internal shots taken by photo-reporter Lana Sator show
secret Russian seaplane bigger than a jumbo jet now beached as a 'museum' in Derbent, Russian Federation

A top-secret Russian seaplane, which never really got off the ground, has been beached as an unofficial oceanside tourist attraction.

The futuristic-looking MD-160 Lun class ekranoplan - also known as an Utka - is bigger than a 747 jet and was built as part of the Soviet WIG programme, which dates back to the Cold War 1960s.

Two decades later, U.S. intelligence officials uncovered a secret document which detailed the roles of the 'WIGS', noting they would "add a new dimension to naval surface warfare when they become operational”, adding they were “designed to fly at speeds of 200 to 250 knots at about 5 to 10 meters above the water’s surface”.

C.I.A. staffers added: “The Utka class WIG is a tactical strike and coastal defence vehicle for the Soviet Navy. It carries six supersonic SS-N-22 anti-ship cruise missiles. The Utka, can engage enemy ships out to its radar horizon (about 35 kilometers/22 miles) but can fire the SS-N-22 out to the missile’s 100-kilometer (62-mile) range with over-the-horizon targeting data. The Utka is larger than a US Boeing 747 jet airplane and flies at about 250 knots. One Utka has been built."

American security chiefs were convinced the ekranoplan, built in 1987, could be used for laying mines, anti-submarine warfare, and search and rescue operations, and they also uncovered details of another planned Lun, allegedly earmarked for future use as a floating hospital, and nicknamed the Spasatel (Rescuer). The new model was almost finished when funding for the project sank without trace and the programme was shut down.

The only Lun in existence was dusted off last month (July20) for its final voyage from Kaspiysk naval base, where it was retired from service in the late 1990s, to Derbent, Dagestan, in Russia's North Caucasus region.

The trip across the Caspian Sea took 14 hours and the new blast from the past attraction will now greet tourists and Cold War curiosity chasers at a new beach venue called Patriot Park.
PersonInImage : Controls aboard the MD-160