Lun-class ekranoplan
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42°52′53″N 47°39′22″E / 42.8815°N 47.6560°E
| File:Lun Ekranoplan.jpg MD-160, the sole Lun-class ekranoplan
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Lun |
| Operators | list error: <br /> list (help) Soviet Navy Russian Navy |
| In service | 1987 - 1995?-1999? |
| Completed | One |
| Retired | One |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and 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 | 8× 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 | list error: <br /> list (help) Six fixed-elevation P-270 Moskit 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 vehicle (GEV) 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 lift generated by the ground effect of its large wings when close to the surface of the water - about four metres or less. Although they might look similar and/or have related technical characteristics, ekranoplans like the Lun are not aircraft, seaplanes, hovercraft, or hydrofoils - ground effect is a separate technology altogether. The International Maritime Organization classifies these vehicles as maritime ships.
The name Lun comes from the Russian for harrier.
Design and development
The Lun 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 model of this class ever built, the MD-160, entered service with the Black Sea Fleet in 1987. It was 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
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 (340 mph, 300 kn)
- Cruise speed: 450 km/h (280 mph, 240 kn) at 2.5 m (8 ft)
- Range: 2,000 km (1,200 mi, 1,100 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 7,500 m (24,600 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
- Caspian Sea Monster (KM)
References
- ^ Bogodvid, Maksim (27 January 2012). "Russia Revives Production of Flarecraft". RIA Novosti. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ van Optal, Edwin. "Lun". Netherlands: The WIG Page. pp. The WIG Page Datasheet no. 26. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
External links
- Image of Lun floating with helicopter hovering nearby se-technology.com, showing armament, 8 engines and search radar
- Recent photos of the MD-160
- Lun Ekranoplan on Google Maps
- Template:En icon All Lun-class Ekranoplanes - Complete Ship List
- Several close-up images
- Wired article on Lun