Real life UFO to take to the skies

The machine is currently being designed by the Saratov aircraft enterprise, which is located in Russia's Volga region. The company started assembling UFO-shaped flying machines in the 1990s, but the project was then moth-balled because of financial problems. Many aircraft companies all over the world have done their best to design such machines, starting just after, some say during, the Second World War. The new machine is named EKIP, derived from a Russian acronym relating to Ecology and Progress. Problems that had to be overcome included vibration caused by turbulent air flows. A special coating is said to enhance lift by 40 percent, with the help of turbulent airflow. Consequently, the EKIP's payload accounts for 40 to 45 percent of its mass whereas the relevant ratio for conventional aircraft is 20 to 25 percent. The EKIP boasts some other unique specifications; for example, it can transport 100-tonne loads over several thousand km at 500-700 kph and at 8 to 13km altitudes. In hovercraft mode, it can also skim along at 160 kph just above the surface. Many foreign companies had repeatedly suggested establishing a joint venture with the Saratov factory in the late 1990s; however, but US Naval Aviation Research Center is said to have alone offered acceptable terms. Specific contract terms have not been disclosed. According to the aircraft factory's general director Alexander Yermishin, Russia will retain EKIP copyright. The market will be divided, after batch production gets under way, with the United States paying dividends to Russia for every EKIP aircraft. According to Yermishin, the US authorities are said to need the remotely piloted aircraft for fighting fires and coping with natural calamities, for those who care to believe that. TS The Russia Journal