Damn you Techforge!!!! Can't we get warning permits for certain people? It would be like a hunting license. Pay some rep to flame, troll, and other goodies on various posters regardless of room? It's not like he's an endangered species. (damn shame if you ask me)
Interesting! I'm just curious why the picture is in black and white. The plane was around in 1987. I might expect a pic like this if it were 1947. Eh, I don't know why it bugs me, it just does. J.
Soviet experimental antiship missile carrying craft. Known as a "WIG" or "Wing In Ground" effect. While the "plane" does look like an aircraft, it can actually climb only a few feet above the water (they always start out in the water) or land. Because the lift generated by the aircraft basically forms an "air bubble"(for lack of a better term) between the surface and airframe, enabling a far, far larger payload to be lifted for that size of aircraft. The four engines on each side of the fuselage are used at takeoff to lift the plane off the water surface until sufficient lift develops. Then they are no longer needed and far lower thrust sustainer engines provide all the forward thrust. The launch tubes along the back of the fuselage are meant to carry large cruise missiles. Thanks to the WIG effect, in theory a plane of that size could carry roughly one third of the antiship missile payload of a Kirov class nuclear powered cruiser (28,000 tons) at over the ocean speeds ten times faster. Soviets were working on some really kick ass tech when they collapsed.
I hope out Govt never gets desperate enough to build something like that. Then again, it may come in useful. If ever deployed in battle,the enemy just might die from laughing at it [yt=Go to 3:00]MT7ewylPlAQ[/yt]
