Flarecruft production resumed in Russia

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia’s Federal Border Guard Service is planning to build a center for the production of flarecrafts to improve protection of the country’s maritime borders.

Russian media cited a government source on Friday, January 27 saying that the center will be built at the former Avangard shipyard in the northern city of Petrozavodsk.

Flarecraft, also referred to as wing-in-ground effect (WIGE) vehicles or by the Russian term ekranoplan, are vehicles that fly near the surface of the Earth due to the ground effect created by the aerodynamic interaction of the wings and the surface.

At present, the Orion-20 flarecraft is being built in Petrozavodsk. It will serve as a testing platform for engines, navigation equipment and control and safety systems of the future vehicles.

The Central Hydrofoil Design Bureau (CHDB) was the center of flarecraft development in the Soviet Union. The Soviet ekranoplan program produced a variety of military and civilian flarecraft, including the 125-ton A-90 Orlyonok, RIA Novosti reported.