The secret project was discovered by American satellites in 1967. The CIA’s analysts named the vehicle firstly as “Kaspian Monster” by the letters “KM” painted on it. Later it would be known as the “Caspian Sea Monster” or “Casp-A”.The KM-1 had to fly after takeoff at a height of between 5 and 10 meters above the sea to use the ground effect. It could reach a maximum speed of 500 kph.Only one “Kaspian Monster” prototype was built. with which up to eight test phases were made. This is why the KM-1 can only be seen with numbers from 1 to 8.There are large variations in the “Caspian Sea Monster” dimensions depending on the testing phase carried out. The wingspan can vary from 32 to 40 meters and the length from 92 to 106 meters.It was the largest aircraft ever made until the arrival of the also Russian Antonov 225 Mrya, with a weight in the air of between 495 and 540 tonnes.The ekranoplane was assigned to the Navy although the test pilots were from the Air Force. Among its missions were those of maritime rescue and assault transport mainly.There was a project to use the “Kaspian Monster” as a submarine hunter with the assembly of long-range cruise missiles, but everything came to a sudden end after its accident in 1980 due to a pilot mistake in the takeoff.
