South Korea plans to build a large, commercially viable flying ship that can greatly boost the speed of maritime transportation, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries said on Thursday.
The "wing-in-ground" (WIG) craft that is expected to be built by 2012 is being designed to carry 100 tons of cargo with a cruising speed of 250-300 kilometers per hour, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported.
The plane's speed is slower than passenger jets but its payload is equivalent to that of a large Boeing 747 jumbo jet, it said.
The 300-ton craft will be 77 meters long and 65 meters across, and designed to benefit from the so-called WIG that gives a powerful natural lift to objects traveling at high speed close to the surface of water, it said.
The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries said the government plans to spend 84.5 billion won (91.7 million U.S. dollars) within five years to support the research and development (R&D) effort. The private sector, including the project's main contractor, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co., will spend another 85.5 billion won (92.8 million U.S. dollars).
South Korea began designing WIG craft in 1995 and successfully tested four-passenger and 20-passenger prototypes in 2001 and in July of this year, it said.
Source: Xinhua
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