So you may be thinking...Well, what's an Ekranoplan? We've seen a few people ask: "Could these machines actually work?" Absolutely! Ekranoplans were designed and developed during the Soviet era by Rostislav Alexeyev. The concept was revolutionary and very soon found military application which led to further backing and development from the Soviet Union. Several of these machines were created throughout the ekranoplan research and development lifecycle. Handled with the utmost secrecy, behemoth machines such as the Lun class titan arose in the Caspian sea. With 8 Kuznetsov NK-87 turbofans, each producing 127.4 kN (28,600 lbf) of thrust, it could achieve 340 mph (550 km/h) [img]http://i.imgur.com/RANkyV3.jpg[/img] A Lun-Class Ekranoplan in action While these monsters didn't necessarily "fly" They used the force of air beneath them to glide across the water, with an optimal operating elevation of 20m (66ft) The reduced drag created by this cushion of air allow blistering speeds despite their incredible mass. [img]http://i.imgur.com/W4LSdxD.jpg[/img] A Lun-Class Ekranoplan elevated above the sea US intelligence at the time received images of these machines, and simply due to their monstrous size, they were instantly dubbed "Caspian Sea Monsters" [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_symWK4T7n0[/url] Following the boom of development during the Soviet era, some smaller ekranoplans were produced for military transport purposes. Thus the A-90 Orlyonok was born. [img]http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/387667044015414190/9EBF0768ECF074A0A9BDD30A1D20ADAB9A7E3773/?interpolation=lanczos-none&output-format=jpeg&output-quality=95&fit=inside|2048:1174&composite-to=*,*|2048:1174&background-color=black[/img] The A-90 Orlyonok Now you'll no longer see ekranoplans dominating the waters...or will you? Check out this link for the latest news on plans to revive the ekranoplan as a passenger vehicle! [url]https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/maks-can-russias-caspian-sea-monster-rise-again-416156/[/url] And don't forget, you'll be able to fly one of these beasts yourself soon here on Steam! ;)