A-90 Orlyonok: The Troop Carrier That Flew Over the Ocean
While the Lun carried missiles, the A-90 Orlyonok was designed to transport troops. This 140-ton ground-effect vehicle could carry 200 fully equipped naval infantry soldiers or two armored personnel carriers across open ocean at 400 km/h, arriving at a hostile beach faster than any ship and with more payload than any helicopter. A bow ramp allowed vehicles to drive directly out upon landing, combining the speed of an aircraft with the logistics capability of a landing craft.
Five Orlyonoks were built and operated by the Soviet Navy's Caspian Flotilla from the early 1980s. Unlike the experimental KM, the Orlyonok was a genuine operational military platform, it participated in exercises and was assigned to a dedicated squadron. Its nose-mounted turboprop could tilt upward for additional lift during takeoff, and once at cruise speed in ground effect, fuel efficiency was far superior to conventional aircraft. The Soviet collapse ended the program, but the Orlyonok proved that ekranoplans could be practical military transports, not just experimental curiosities.
