Soviet-era ‘ekranoplan’ designs could aid Beijing in a maritime conflict, but the research comes with its difficulties, observers say.
The Chinese regime is making progress on an experimental type of flying vessel first developed by the former Soviet Union and is also using its intelligence services to acquire this technology, as well as other military-technical expertise, from Russia, according to experts.
Ground-effect vehicles, also known as wing-in-ground-effect (WIG) aircraft or by the Russian term “ekranoplan,” straddle the boundary between ships and airplanes. By flying just a few yards above ground level, they take advantage of the so-called ground effect to generate tremendous lift and float across level surfaces such as open sea.
Offering the potential for transporting vast quantities of troops, weaponry, or supplies at high speeds, ekranoplans could augment the growing strength of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the event of a maritime conflict, such as in the South China Sea or an invasion of Taiwan.
For the PLA Navy, the ekranoplan may seem like an attractive choice, offering the potential for rapid, relatively stealthy transport across long distances over water. The Chinese regime has a growing military presence in the disputed South China Sea and its regional islands, some of which have been artificially enlarged to accommodate more installations and personnel.
“Maintaining permanent military forces on China’s artificial islands in the South China Sea requires constant resupply,” Mark Space, an overseas Chinese commentator on Chinese and Taiwanese military affairs, told The Epoch Times.
While in times of peace, replenishing these islands by transport ship is a simple matter, and “in the event of war, ships would be slow and easy targets,” said the commentator, who runs a Chinese-language YouTube channel.
Learning–and Stealing–From Moscow
While the Soviets had mixed success with ground effect technology, and there is doubt as to whether such projects are practical, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) appears to be determined to pick up where the Kremlin left off.
“Ground-effect vehicles don’t need long runways, and theoretically, their payload capacity could exceed that of standard aircraft,” Space said. “That’s why China has been exploring faster and stealthier methods of transporting supplies, personnel, and equipment, leading them to consider ground-effect vehicles.”
By Leo Timm
