The Harrier ground-effect vehicle, which is also called the Caspian Monster, is the main exhibit of the Patriot Military Museum in Derbent. The Harrier ground-effect vehicle is a unique hydroplane armed with Mosquito cruise missiles. The designers planned that it would be able to hit even aircraft carriers, but in the 1990s the development of the project was considered impractical.
The screen effect was discovered in the first half of the 20th century. This is an increase in the carrying capacity of the aircraft if it moves over a flat surface for a long time (water), almost in contact with it. The development of the 903 Project began at the «Volga» plant in Nizhny Novgorod in the 1970s. Then the prototype was disassembled and transported to the Caspian Sea for testing. The ground-effect vehicle is a cross between a ship and an airplane, although the Caspian prototypes were listed in the department of the Navy.
The hydroplane could fly above the surface of the water at an altitude of 5 meters and at the same time reach speeds of up to 500 km/h, which is inaccessible to ordinary ships. Ground-effect vehicle is not visible on the radars of warships, so they could fly up to the enemy squadron and fire anti-ship cruise missiles at them. The range of the missiles is 250 km.
Tests of the first prototype of the ground-effect vehicle began in 1986, and in 1990, due to a crew error, it sank. It had huge dimensions (length 92 m, height 22 m, weight 500 tons), as it was designed as a transport craft. Compared to conventional aircraft, the Harrier ground-effect vehicle had a significantly higher payload capacity.
This made it possible to make it an amphibious or rescue aircraft. It could fly to the specified area 5 times faster than any ship and land more than two hundred armed soldiers or load several hundred people on board in the disaster area. It could also carry heavy military equipment.
The Ministry of Defense planned to order dozens of ground-effect vehicles, but after the death of the Caspian Monster, it was possible to build a second prototype. This ground-effect vehicle was a missile carrier with 6 launchers of anti-ship cruise missiles Mosquito. It has smaller dimensions, but they are also impressive.
The length of the Harrier ground-effect vehicle reaches 73 m, height - 19 m, weight – 280 tons. This prototype has been in dry dock at the Dagdiesel plant in Kaspiysk since 1990. Fortunately, it was not sawn for scrap in the 1990s. After almost 30 years, the Harrier ground-effect vehicle was towed to the seashore 20 km south of Derbent to make it the main exhibit of the military museum.
Similar projects were then developed in the world. In the USA, several ground-effect vehicles of various modifications were built, but all of them were transport or rescue crafts. The Harrier ground-effect vehicle in Derbent is the world`s only combat ground-effect vehicle armed with cruise missiles.
