Ground effect vehicle

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A Russian cold war ekranoplan in flight

A Ground effect vehicle is vehicle that takes advantage of the aerodynamic principle of ground effect (or Wing-in-ground). The initialism GEV is commonly used in reference to this term. GEVs were originally called Ekranoplans, after the original vehicles created by the then Soviet Union; this name is now used to describe the now Russian designed vehicles and their variants, with GEV being used as the more generic term for this class of vehicle .

The development of the ekranoplans slowed towards the end of the Soviet Union. However some development is still ongoing into the vehicle. Other GEVs are being currently developed such as the Boeing Pelican , and the French supported 'Aéroptère' (also being referred to as a 'wingboat') built by the company Focus 21 .

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