Chinese Ground-Effect Vehicles (Ekranoplan)

[collins355]

Maybe

 

[Tomboy]

 

[gabrielorosco]

View attachment 776263

Where is it? Can you share the source?

 

[Robert]

Source - China Builds New Large Jet-Powered Ekranoplan

 

[EmoBirb]

It seems like China is working on Ekranoplans

China Builds New Large Jet-Powered Ekranoplan - Naval News

Ekranoplans, special ultra-low flying aircraft, promise to combine features from ships, airplanes, and hovercraft. There are many designs and projects out there, but they have yet to truly realise their promise. Now the discovery of the large 4-jet 'Bohai Sea Monster' in China harks back to the...

www.navalnews.com

 

[Tomboy]

Where is it? Can you share the source?

Some guy posted it on weibo and called it the Bohai sea monster. So presumably its based out of a naval port somewhere along Bohai.

 

[chuck4]

It doesn’t look very large to me next to the mobile crane on the dock, It looks to be smaller than a C-130 and probably more similar in size to a regional puddle jumper passenger jet like the BAE 146, but much tubbier.

 

[sienar]

Perhaps a sub-scale test.

 

[targetpractice]

The empennage reminds me of the Airfish 8


Or this Chinese "Wingship" - of which I can find a single photo from 2023

 

[targetpractice]

That said, the hull looks like a pretty standard flying boat with a pretty standard high wing.

 

[Scott Kenny]

That said, the hull looks like a pretty standard flying boat with a pretty standard high wing.

I'd expect it to, especially if they're aiming for a Class C (capable of full flight)

 

[Jason Dykstra (Wyvern)]

Perhaps an attempt to counter the Liberty Lifter?

 

[Scott Kenny]

Stuff like this is why I'm curious about potential Russian assistance or access to Soviet research via Russia or Ukraine (be it authorized access or not).

The USSR had a huge interest in GEV and invested heavily into it with several large scale, military grade prototypes. That means that there are tons of research on the topic available and China would most likely be very interested in this sort of thing.

I think the SCS is rough waters due to prevailing winds, but Bohai Bay west of the Korean peninsula should be pretty low waves and swells.

 

[TorpedoJ]

Not sure if there's a better thread for this, but has anyone seriously tried making an unmanned ekranoplan for ASW? If a WIG vehicle were made small enough to dodge around waves rather than flying over them (The image I have in mind is albatrosses in the southern ocean) could they carry a MAD boom, or similar, at very low altitude in the Atlantic?

 

[CJGibson]

Not a WIG, but Saro designed the P.200 Weapons Carrier, a radio-controlled hydrofoil that could be launched from corvettes and submarine chasers.

I think it's described "The Admiralty and the Helicopter" by James Jackson.

Chris

 

[Scott Kenny]

Not sure if there's a better thread for this, but has anyone seriously tried making an unmanned ekranoplan for ASW? If a WIG vehicle were made small enough to dodge around waves rather than flying over them (The image I have in mind is albatrosses in the southern ocean) could they carry a MAD boom, or similar, at very low altitude in the Atlantic?

Not an unmanned one, but yes the Soviets tried with the Bartini VVA-14.

And I agree that a WiGE vehicle would be just about ideal for carrying a MAD.

 

[TorpedoJ]

Not an unmanned one, but yes the Soviets tried with the Bartini VVA-14.

And I agree that a WiGE vehicle would be just about ideal for carrying a MAD.

Thanks, though I wasn't expecting that, well, unconventional an airframe.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Not a WIG, but Saro designed the P.200 Weapons Carrier, a radio-controlled hydrofoil that could be launched from corvettes and submarine chasers.

I think it's described "The Admiralty and the Helicopter" by James Jackson.

Chris

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/saro-p-200-unmanned-asw-torpedo-carrier.25503/

 

[Scott Kenny]

Thanks, though I wasn't expecting that, well, unconventional an airframe.

Yeah, the VVA-14 is very weird.

 

[vanishingelephant]

Picture of the recently seen Chinese WIG on the water. Source in bottom right corner. Looks positively tiny!

 

[targetpractice]

Quite a cool looking thing, though. I like the nose section.

I'm assuming that's four turboprops?

 

[pagliacci]

I don't know what's the point of researching this thing. It's completely unusable in poor sea conditions.

 

[Forest Green]

China’s Mysterious Ekranoplan Seen In Full For First Time​

China's Mysterious Ekranoplan Seen In Full For First Time

The first full image of China's "Bohai Sea Monster" wing-in-ground effect craft has emerged, but major questions remain.

www.twz.com

 

[SUPER=BUG]

I don't know what's the point of researching this thing. It's completely unusable in poor sea conditions.

Some technologies are always welcome, and even if we don't actually put them into service, some of their technologies are still valuable for development.

 

[Scott Kenny]

I don't know what's the point of researching this thing. It's completely unusable in poor sea conditions.

Bohai Bay and ECS should be pretty mild waves most of the time.