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Skimming across the water with elegance and ease, wing-in-ground effect (WIG) craft seem to offer a faster and more cost-effective alternative to conventional maritime vessels. ST Engineering is the latest company to try and commercialize them, and might have succeeded. It announced Monday that a Turkish company has signed a letter of intent for 10 of its Airfish vehicles, plus options for an additional 10 units.
Eurasia Mobility Solutions (EMS) has opted for the 10-seat version of the Airfish family that ST Engineering offers through a joint venture with Singapore-based SME Wigetworks, which recently rebranded under the name Peluca. The joint venture, called AirX, launched in July 2023. The Turkish company plans to operate the Airfish for tourism and private transport purposes.
The version displayed on the ST Engineering stand at the Singapore Airshow this week is a two-seat version designated the Airfish 3. It derives from a series of experimental WIGs designed and flown by German company Airfoil Development (AFD) in the 1960s and 1970s. The German military evaluated one in 1977, but no orders followed. Two decades later, AFD built the Airfish 3 and the larger Airfish 8. Those prototypes underwent sea trials in the Netherlands and Australia in 2001.
Established in Singapore in 2004, Wigetworks bought the intellectual property rights and the two prototypes from AFD. It conducted more sea trials in Thailand and Singapore in 2007 and 2008. It built two pre-production Airfish 8 models in 2017 and 2018. The Royal Thai Navy evaluated them and delivered a positive verdict but, again, it did not place an order.
WIG craft use aerodynamic lift plus air pressure generated by flying close to the water surface, reducing induced drag and enabling speeds of up to 90 knots. ST Engineering says that WIGs are inherently stable, and therefore need no complex flight control systems.
For takeoff and landing, the Airfish 8 can operate up to sea state 3 and in wind speeds of up to 15 knots. It carries a payload of up to 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) and a cruising range of 300 nm. The maximum takeoff weight is 5,500 kilograms (12,000 pounds). A pair of standard General Motors 500-hp automobile engines power its two pusher propellers.
If operated in ground effect and up to 500 feet, the Airfish can be certified under International Maritime Organisation (IMO) rules. Above that altitude, it must achieve ICAO certification.
ST Engineering also cites potential military applications in littoral waters as a stealth platform and in parapublic roles such as medical evacuation and oil spill response.