The Hidden Soviet Weapon

For more than 15 years, Russians and Russian military have consistently tested the vehicle that was designed as a hybrid of aircraft and ship. Although it was a clumsy and rather harmless craft, leaders of the CIA had nightmares because of this strange vehicle. Why?

The Cold War was a strange and tense time if you were American or Russian. The Americans were in constant fear of the "Reds" (of the Russian invasion), and the Russians felt the same because of the Americans. Both superpowers were armed like there's no tomorrow, nuclear weapons were obese as rattles, bunkers were built, and incredible weapons and means of transport worthy of science fiction novels started to appear.

One of these vehicles is certainly the Russian “ekrano-plan”, remembered in history as the "Caspian Sea Monster". Ekranoplans are in fact means of transport that used all the benefits of the so-called "Ground" effect. They fly, but very close to the ground or water surface while their layer of air between the wings and the floor drastically reduces resistance.

"Caspian Sea Monster" in 1964 was designed by the famous engineer Rastislav Alexeyev and it was quickly discovered by the agents of CIA. They located and filmed from the air a gigantic spacecraft with and then named is "Caspian Monster". The official label for this vehicle was KM.

"KM" was actually a Russian abbreviation for "Korabl maket" or prototype. Wingspan of mysterious craft was approximately 37 meters, and the length of its hull was 92 meters. MD-160 was a real monster and everyone who saw it was fascinated. It was the largest aircraft in the world back then. And we just have to understand that the size in the era of Cold War was very important.

CIA was terrified

CIA is so terrified of the Russian secret project that they designed a special drone, with which they spied on its development. This first version was designed to fly five to ten meters above the ground or water surface and used "ground effect", which allowed to carry a very heavy burden, either in military troops, military equipment or nuclear warheads. Despite the gigantic dimensions and weight, the MD-160 is able to achieve speeds of up to 500 km / h.

And while "Caspian Monster" had excellent characteristics for transporting cargo for military use, it just had too many flaws. The slightest sudden movement could cause the demolition of the aircraft because the wing caught the water and then there was no more salvation. While it was over the surface, ekranoplan was unattainable target for underwater mines and torpedoes, be hit had to always have an armed escort, which would made sure that the road is clear and perfectly passable. Later versions of the aircraft were even armed with missiles, but even this wasn’t enough.