Why Bisarre Cold Warshovers Make Comeback

It’s not a boat. It’s not an apartment. It is a flying, sea -foaming craft called an Ekranoplan.

These large vehicles, reminiscent of Soviet technology from the Cold War, make a comeback as China and the United States develop modern versions into a possible military confrontation in the Pacific.

The gigantic sea mimters are similar to large aircraft, but are “more related to high-spy fleet vessels, ‘flying’ a few meters above sea level,” says Malcolm Davis at the Australian strategic political institute. Such vehicles take advantage of a phenomenon called “wing-in-earth” effect, where a pillow of air between the low-flying vehicle and the water below can both support the vehicle and reduce aerodynamic features.

Such sea mimters are typically fast than ships – with speeds compared to aircraft – while also able to avoid surface or air radiation, says Davis. They were able to stealthily and quickly supply cargo or troops over the long sea distances that are common in the Indo-Pacific region, or possibly launch surprising anti-screen missile missil on conflicting fleet, he says.

The technology first got notorior during the Cold War when the Soviet Union experimented with its Ekranoplan -Design, included a prototype nickname “Capsian Sea Monster”. But they never started fully because of a lack of funding and limited usability for Soviet military planners, says Davis. The current resurgence of interest in sea mimmers is coming as China uses its expanding military power to push territorial allegations across Taiwan and the South China Sea.

China began developing SEA skimmer prototypes that started in the early 2000s, says Ben Lewis, an independent defense analyst at Washington DC. Recently, in June 2025, photos from Chinese social media showed a large waterborne vehicle with four jet engines mounted on top of its wings, first reported by analyst Hi Sutton in Naval News. China also recruits Russian technology specialists who train work on the Soviet Union’s Ekranoplan -Design, according to internal Russian intelligence documents obtained by New York Times.

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) funded the development of a similar Seaplane through its Liberty Lifter program from 2022. But the program in June 2025 without building a successful craft. Instead, the Agency plans to encourage private companies and Broaden Us Military to take on the task of experiences from the Liberty Lifter program.

Separately, the US company Regent Craft has also tested its allelectric Seaglider version of such technology for commercial use, which has gained interest from the US Marine Corps.

Such sea mimmers “can prove affordable and reasonable alternatives to more expensive traditional aircraft” as the technology and manufacturing techniques move on, says Brendan Mulvaney at the US Air Force’s China Aerospace Studies Institute in Alabama. But he has bail, “they will not be the backbone of any strength and will almost certainly not survive modern struggle with a high institute”. Such sea gauies could also face different ones that work under Roch conditions, which are not uncommon in the Taiwan strait and other waters in East Asia, says Lewis.

Still, sea mimmers could be part of a wider Chinese military strategy to counter us and allied naval forces that can deploy in support of Taiwan, Davis says. The United States has breathed by increasing military cooperation with regional allies, such as South Korea, Japan and the Philippines while trying to strengthen Pacific Island territories as military bases. The possibility of conflict for both sides has “really increased the need for exploring more new capabilities” that can provide an “extra edge”, says Lewis.