Looks like something out of a Hollywood movie.................
That is the coolest #$%&ing plane I’ve ever seen!
Russian engineers have always thought outside the box. Remarkable.
That that is a plane built to put the fear of Ivan in you.
Looks economical to operate... </sarc>
This reminds me of the nuclear hand grenade. A Legion of Merit medal is tied to the pin.
Another marvelous & promising technology, relegated to the dustbin of history because it was featured on the cover of Popular Mechanics.
Couple of things:
In regard to the Lun...there is some footage of the thing actually flying and firing its rockets. If you do a YouTube search for ‘Lun-class”, you’ll find it. It’s from a Russian documentary of the ekranoplanes, and the narration is in Russian. However, if you click through, you’ll recognize the Lun.
Second, in regard to the nuclear airplane concept...the Air Force finally deemed the concept as too expensive to make both safe and workable. However, they had thought of “Project Pluto”. It was a nuclear-powered cruise missile/unmanned bomber that, once it’s nuclear engine was turned on, would go blasting at supersonic speeds (likely Mach 3) and low altitude towards several targets in the Soviet Union. It would’ve carried multiple nukes onboard, dropping them on several targets before self-destructing over the last target.
Not only that, but the shock wave from flying at Mach 3 so low to the ground would have caused serious damage along its flight path...and the exhaust was also going to leave a pretty nasty radioactive trail.
They dropped the idea when intercontinental ballistic missiles proved to be easier to design and build then previously thought.
I imagine it as what I call a “middle-finger” type of weapon...where you not only destroy cities but screw up the environment of your enemy for decades to come.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0y9UHyOhbo
There appears to be several more similar videos available via the "sidebar" at that same URL...
We should license the design. Imagine a car ferry that could go from Chicago to Traverse City in one hour.