Ekranoplan Lun

Ekranoplan is a Russian word describing so-called “ground-effect-vehicles.” They look like planes but are able to move over the surface by gaining support from the reactions of the air against the surface of the earth or water. “Lun” is a huge ekranoplan built in the USSR in 1987. It measures approximately 73 meters (240 feet) in length, almost 20 meters (65 feet) in height, and has a wingspan of 44 meters (144 feet). Only one vehicle of this class was built and served in the Soviet Army (and the Russian Army after that) on the Caspian Sea.

The vehicle was in use till late 1990 and after retirement stood unused at a  naval base in Kaspiysk (Russian Republic of Dagestan) until 2020. Then it was decided to move it to a new place, near the city of Derbent, where the aircraft was meant to be moved onshore and used as a central element of Patriotic Park. Lun was indeed moved out from the Sea, 20 kilometers south of Derbent, but the park is yet to be created and nobody knows when it will happen.

As of the summer of 2021, Ekranoplan Lun stands on the seashore and everyone, who makes the short taxi ride from Derbent can go around and see this unique creature.