Naval Air: Russian Amphibian Flies Again

Archives

September12, 2008:  The Russian Navy has come up with the money to revive development of their Be-42 amphibious (can take off from land or water) reconnaissance aircraft. This was a late Cold War project, what was suspended in the early 1990s because of lack of money. The Russian navy has ordered four of the Be-42s, with the first to be delivered in two years, and all four of them in five years. If the Be-42s perform well, several dozen will be ordered to perform coastal patrol duties.

The 86 ton amphibian uses two jet engines (for cruising), as well as two smaller jet engines to help get off the water. The aircraft can fly up to 4,100 kilometers, at a max speed of 800 kilometers an hour. The crew of eight has a number of electronic sensors, as well as the ability to carry 6.5 tons of weapons (mines, depth charges, torpedoes, sonobuoys, anti-ship missiles, etc). The four currently on order will be used mainly for search and rescue, meaning few, if any, weapons will be carried.

 

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contributions. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   Contribute   Close