Ekaranoplan (WIG) are so-called surface planes actually waterborne platforms using broadwater surface as airfield strip. WIG stand for Wing-in-Ground dealing with the lifting capacity of wings which is importantly increased when the plane is on a height above the water are gound of about50% of the wing span. The Ekranoplan was a design of Rostislav Alexeyev and served a transport within the Soviet-Russian navies between 1988-late 1990s. The lifting capacity was especially increased when flying on a height les than four metres above the water surface. In 1998 finally were all flights of this plane suspended just like the building in Russia although in 2017/2018 the building in Russia revived considering the building of a missile-armed version with a maximum take off weight of 125 tons called Orlan by the NATO or Project 904/Orlyonok in Russia to be used in the Arctic region but also the Black and Caspian Seas. The leadplant was to fit out with a Kuznetsov NK-12MK turboprop engine.
