{{Short description|Ground-effect vehicle}} thumb|A model of the ''Spasatel''
'''Spasatel''' ({{langx|ru|Спасатель}} "Rescuer", "Lifesaver", Project 9038) is a ground-effect vehicle, originally planned by the Soviet Ministry of Defense. The vehicle was intended to serve as the missile carrier of the project ''Lun''-class ekranoplan, but was then converted into an ambulance craft. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, construction was halted and the vehicle was never completed.
By 2018, Russia had revived the {{convert|600|MT|adj=mid|lb kg|-maximum-takeoff-weight}} project, with plans to use it for search and rescue operations in the Arctic and Pacific, as well as cargo and troop delivery (up to 550 troops) to remote military bases.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mskgazeta.ru/obshchestvo/dlya-rossijskih-vs-sozdaetsya-transportno-desantnyj-ekranoplan-spasatel-.html|title=Для российских ВС создается транспортно-десантный экраноплан «Спасатель» - Новости общества|author=|date=|website=mskgazeta.ru|accessdate=29 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://warisboring.com/part-plane-part-ship-this-ekranoplan-was-a-giant-rescue-vessel/|title=Part Plane, Part Ship, This 'Ekranoplan' Was a Giant Rescue Vessel|author=|date=16 June 2014|website=warisboring.com|accessdate=29 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/9038.htm|title=Project 9038 - Spasatel|author=|date=|website=www.globalsecurity.org|accessdate=29 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://iiaat.guap.ru/?n=main&p=pres_spasatel|title=International Institute for Advanced Aerospace Technologies (IIAAT)|website=iiaat.guap.ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/15542/russia-supposedly-bringing-back-giant-ekranoplans-for-arctic-missions|title=Russia Supposedly Bringing Back Giant Ekranoplans For Arctic Missions|first=Tyler|last=Rogoway|website=The Drive|date=27 October 2017 }}</ref>{{update after|2019}}<!-- was it ever built? fielded? -->
== Goals == {{Unsourced|section|date=March 2019}} A military advantage of ground-effect vehicles over ships and submarines was that they did not have draft during operation, and therefore could not be detected by sonar and could not be hit by torpedoes.{{cn|date=December 2023}} Advantages over aircraft include operation at low altitude, which makes radar acquisition difficult, and a larger payload. This was particularly interesting during the Cold War as a way to inconspicuously and quickly transport many people or large cargo over long distances.{{cn|date=March 2019}}
== History == The ''Spasatel'' was originally built as a second ''Lun''-class anti-ship missile-carrying ekranoplan. After the Soviet nuclear submarine ''K-278 Komsomolets'' sank in 1989, killing 42 people, the ''Spasatel'' was repurposed to be deployed in the maritime search and rescue mission, and seating for up to 500 passengers was planned.<ref name="IIAAT">[http://iiaat.guap.ru/?n=main&p=pres_spasatel Ekranoplane «Spasatel» presentation] iiaat.guap.ru (English)</ref>
After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the project was cancelled for financial reasons. Military operations at sea were also greatly reduced, so the intended use became less important. The unfinished ''Spasatel'' is stored in an old industrial complex in Nizhny Novgorod as of 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/56%C2%B021%2746.0%22N+43%C2%B052%2744.0%22E/@56.3627501,43.8780791,173m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d56.362788!4d43.878875|title=56°21'46.0"N 43°52'44.0"E · Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, 603003|website=56°21'46.0"N 43°52'44.0"E · Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, 603003}}</ref>
=== Potential resumption === thumb|Model presented in 2015 According to press reports in December 2017, the development of the ''Spasatel'' might be resumed, for use mainly in Arctic waters, with production beginning as early as 2025.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.armyrecognition.com/archives/archives-naval-defense/naval-defense-2017/development-of-new-ekranoplan-type-gev-for-russia-s-navy-is-underway |title=Development of New Ekranoplan Type GEV for Russia's Navy is underway |publisher=Navyrecognition.com |date=2017-10-30 |access-date=2018-12-29}}</ref> According to Russian media, {{asof|2017|11|lc=y}}, the project was included in the arms budget for the years 2018 to 2025.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://m.focus.de/politik/ausland/stategie-in-der-arktis-monster-des-caspian-sea-russia-build-giant-aircraft-nato-alarmed_id_7860239.html |title=NATO already extremely alarmed: Putin's "Monster of the Caspian Sea" returns |publisher=Focus online |date=2017-11-18 |accessdate=2017-11-18 }}{{dead link|date=June 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>{{update after|2019}}<!-- was it ever built? fielded? -->
== See also == * ''Lun''-class ekranoplan (military variant, basis of ''Spasatel'') * TTS-IS
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == {{Commons category}} * [http://iiaat.guap.ru/?n=main&p=pres_spasatel Presentation of Ekranoplans '' Spasatel ''] at '' International Institute for Advanced Aerospace Technologies '' * [http://jpcolliat.free.fr/ekra/ekraD.html Les Ekranoplanes: Le Spasatel] (French) * [https://www.google.com/maps/place/%22Spasatel%22+prototype+-+2sd+Lun-class+ekranoplan+ever+built/@56.3627115,43.8786722,223m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x4151d5f9ee033251:0x28d3c0cf849657aa!2sNizhny+Novgorod,+Nizhny+Novgorod+Oblast,+Russia!3b1!8m2!3d56.3268684!4d44.0058793!16zL20vMGhjbHI!3m5!1s0x4151d7c20274e50d:0x7311c36dd987b985!8m2!3d56.3627922!4d43.8787693!16s%2Fg%2F11q1gb9vd3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDQwMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D Google Maps Link to Spasatel Prototype]
Category:Ekranoplans Category:Proposed aircraft of Russia Spasatel Category:Eight-engined jet aircraft Category:Low-wing aircraft Category:T-tail aircraft