Big-E said:
Wasn't the Spruce Goose the first WIG?:lol2
The talk of Boeing making a huge transport WIG only says it carries 1300 tons, thats nothing compared to Sea lift. Everything I'm reading says if she goes into more than sea-state 2-3 she flies apart. Sounds like she can't operate in open oceans. That Caspain Sea Monster gave me a good laugh, thanks for that. I think I'll stick with C-17s.
Well actually, altitude can be increased significantly- allowing the airframe to stay above wave crests, no matter the sea-state.
Yes, compared to an LST, a WIG doesn't haul that much. But it does carry a substantial payload for an airplane- and it can fly at subsonic speed.
Now, imagine a fleet of say a hundred "Sea Monsters" carrying up to 1000 Marines each. They can fly thousands of kilometers across an ocean, and in a matter hours, could land 100,000 fully equipped shock troops to an enemy shore. The second and third sorties would double, and triple that amount of troops in as few as two or three days.
Alternatively, imagine several dozen of these things loaded with a dozen or more supersonic ASHM's flying towards a carrier group below the radar.
They all launch scores of Klub, or Yakhont missiles, at the edge of the horizon - and then reverse course at maximum thrust. They return to friendly territory and set down next to a heavy freighter which acts as a tender.
In a matter of hours, they can be refueled, and rearmed, and loaded with fresh crews- and return to re-attack, and/or finish off the survivors.
Certainly, the US C-17 is a great airborne transport, and Russia is no longer able to mass-produce enormous WIGs-
but if Russia's economy hadn't fallen apart, they could0 have been as effective as the C-17 as a atransport, or been a more effective missile launcher than a regiment of Backfires.
The US could certainly have a use for a fleet of these on either coast, as they could be used to deliver several battalion's worth of troops to the other side of the ocean in the time it takes to fly them in a C-17.
The same fleet could also be used to launch hundreds of TLAMs, CALCMs, and "Affordable Weapons" against any threat in the world, from far beyond SAM and fighter patrol range.
In addition, we should keep in mind there is no reason the US couldn't also make them stealthy, in-flight refuel capable, and capable of performing many different roles.
