Some interesting things are going on in Russia. Last week we talked about the building of 5000 new bomb shelters in Moscow. This week it is official and not a pipe dream, The Russian government has just commissioned the renewal of the “Caspian Sea Monster,” the legendary ground effect vehicle (GEV). Only 30 such crafts were built in the Soviet Union over two decades.
In August of 1967 an American spy satellite took sensational photographs. Above we have a video of that huge unknown machine that looked like an aircraft, some 100 meters long and about 500 tons in weight. It was flying over the Caspian Sea waters at more than 500 kilometers per hour. Pentagon analysts called this object “The Caspian Sea Monster”. It was constructed to make the Soviet Union a naval superpower. Watch the video to find out about the history of the Caspian sea monster’s construction and its rebirth today.
The rebirth of the GEV production was announced by the Alekseev design and construction bureau, which was, in the old days, the leading producer of such vehicles. According to their production branch director, Evgeny Meleshko, the bureau is working diligently on the craft. They will spend two years making the new design with the first tests scheduled to be launched in 2012. He also said, “For our company it’s a important project, and most of our specialists will be working on it.”
GEVs are high-speed naval vehicles that fly just over the surface thanks to a high-pressure air cushion created by its wings. The first prototype with a wingspan of 37.6 meters and a hull length of about 100 meters could travel at 250 knots and had a maximum take-off weigh of 544 tons.
The Soviet Union produced several models, including one for amphibian troops transportation and a cruise missile carrier. There was also a project for a strategic GEV armed with ballistic missiles.
It makes you wonder what the plans are for now and does ballistic missiles fit the picture. Russia is big on delivery vehicles to carry their Nuclear tipped missiles…
Looks to me like the Kremlin is putting out a message…
Windows to Russia!