Beriev Be-2500 Neptun

The Beriev Be-2500 Neptun is a super heavy amphibious transport aircraft which, as of 2007, was in design and development at the Russian firm Beriev. Its name comes from the estimated maximum takeoff weight of 2,500 tons. It was designed to fly as a conventional jet at high altitude across continents and to use ground effect on intercontinental routes over the sea, taking off from ordinary seaports with no special infrastructure; the concept is thought to have some connection with the Lun-class ekranoplan of the 1970s. Beriev developed the concept in the 1980s with TsAGI and TsIAM. The planned powerplant was six Kuznetsov NK-116 turbofans of 172 kN each, with the Rolls-Royce Trent 800 and General Electric engines also considered. The specification gives a length of 123 m, a wingspan of 156 m, a speed of 800 km/h and a range of 17,000 km, and a development programme was estimated in 2007 to cost 10 to 15 billion dollars.