Beriev Be-2500: What Should You Know About The Proposed Super Heavy Amphibian Ground Effect Plane?

Ekranoplans are a sort of mix of an aircraft and a hovercraft using ground effect to fly or skim a few meters above the ground (normally the water). It is sometimes assumed that the Soviets just copied Western aircraft design (such as with the Tupolev Tu-4 – a B-29 copy) and were always playing catch-up.