The Beriev A-40 ''Albatros'' (,

NATO reporting name NATO uses a system of code names, called reporting names, to denote military aircraft and other equipment used by post-Soviet states, former Warsaw Pact countries, China, and other countries. The system assists military communications by providi ...

Mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are ...

) is a Soviet/Russian jet-powered

amphibious Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...

flying boat A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy. Though ...

Beriev Aircraft Company The PJSC Beriev Aircraft Company (), formerly Beriev Design Bureau, is a Russian aircraft manufacturer (design office prefix Be), specializing in amphibious aircraft. The company was founded in Taganrog in 1934 as OKB-49 by Georgy Mikhailovich ...

for an

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

role. Intended as a replacement for the amphibious

turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...

Beriev Be-12 The Beriev Be-12 ''Chayka'' (, NATO reporting name: Mail) is a Soviet turboprop-powered amphibious aircraft designed in the 1950s for anti-submarine and maritime patrol duties. Design and development The Beriev Be-12 was a successor to the B ...

and the land-based

Ilyushin Il-38 The Ilyushin Il-38 (nicknamed Dolphin) (NATO reporting name: May) is a maritime patrol aircraft and anti-submarine warfare aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It was a development of the Ilyushin Il-18 turboprop transport. Design and devel ...

,Gordon, Sal'nikov and Zablotskiy 2006, p. 49. the project was suspended after only one prototype had been manufactured, with the second one 70% completed, due to the

breakup of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

.Gordon, Sal'nikov and Zablotskiy 2006, p. 66. The project was later revived as the A-42 and an order has been placed by the

Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

, though as of 2023, no more has been said of this order, and no other customer has placed orders on the A-40; its successor design, the civilian

Be-200 The Beriev Be-200 ''Altair'' () is a jet-powered amphibious flying boat of utility type designed and built by the Beriev Aircraft Company. Marketed as being designed for fire fighting, search and rescue, maritime patrol, cargo, and passenge ...

, has been

marketed Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or manufacturer. Products can ...

more successful both domestically and in the

international market Global marketing is defined as “marketing on a worldwide scale reconciling or taking global operational differences, similarities and opportunities to reach global objectives". Global marketing is also a field of study in general business mana ...

Design

The A-40 is a jet-engined

patrol bomber A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over ...

of all-metal construction with the engines located above the

wing root The wing root is the part of the wing on a fixed-wing aircraft or winged-spaceship that is closest to the fuselage,Peppler, I.L.: ''From The Ground Up'', page 9. Aviation Publishers Co. Limited, Ottawa Ontario, Twenty Seventh Revised Edition, 1 ...

s, atop each of the main landing gear nacelles at the rear of each wing root. The

swept wing A swept wing is a wing angled either backward or occasionally forward from its root rather than perpendicular to the fuselage. Swept wings have been flown since the pioneer days of aviation. Wing sweep at high speeds was first investigated in Ge ...

s, set high on the fuselage, have a marked anhedral angle, with balance floats attached by short pylons directly under each wingtip.

Development

The

maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. In the early days of aviation it could be dange ...

in 1986 was unplanned; during a high-speed

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

test, the airplane became airborne and ran out of runway, with the crew being forced to continue the takeoff. The subsequent flight and landing went without further incident, but the test crew were downgraded from their duties afterwards, despite having saved the aircraft. By 1990 two variants were planned, with a

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

amphibian being designated the A-42, and a

military patrol Military patrol is a team winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. Formerly ski mountaineering was also part of the sport. It is usually contested between countries or milit ...

version designated as the A-44. The A-42 and A-44 versions were combined in 1993, but work on amphibians came to a halt in that year with an A-42 prototype 80% completed. In 2002, after renewed

interest, the A-40 prototype was restored to

airworthiness In aviation, airworthiness is the measure of an aircraft's suitability for Air safety, safe flight. Initial airworthiness is demonstrated by a certificate of airworthiness issued by the civil aviation authority in the state in which the aircraft ...

, and in 2006 the A-42 prototype was completed. The Defense Ministry signed an R&D agreement for $242 million rubles but pulled the plug in 2011. On 3 September 2019, the Russian Navy announced an order for three A-42 aircraft, with an expectation that the aircraft would use two

Progress D-27 The Progress D-27 is a three-shaft propfan engine developed by Ivchenko Progress, and manufactured by Motor Sich in Ukraine. The gas generator was designed using experience from the Lotarev D-36 turbofan. The D-27 engine was designed to power ...

propfans, manufactured by

Motor Sich The Motor Sich, Joint Stock Company () is a Ukrainian aircraft engine manufacturer headquartered in Zaporizhzhia. The company manufactures engines for airplanes and helicopters as well as industrial marine gas turbines and installations. Ov ...

in Ukraine, as the powerplant. This variant would have an increased range of 9300 km. This version would be upgraded to expand its combat capabilities, including a new radar comprising a viewing sight, heat seekers, piloting and navigational complex to measure sea waves, and new communications equipment. An estimated service entry date was not provided. Regardless, the Motor Sich engine manufacturing plant in Zaporozhie was destroyed by Russian forces in late May 2022 following the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

Operational history

Between 1989 and 1998, the Beriev A-40 set 140 world records.Gordon, Sal'nikov and Zablotskiy 2006, pp. 63–66.

Variants

;A-40: Initial ASW amphibian. 1 prototype built (second is 70% completed). ;A-40M :Projected upgrade to the initial version, utilising a new search and targeting system.Gordon, Sal'nikov & Zablotskiy 2006, pp. 66–67. ;A-40P :Initially a projected

aerial firefighting Aerial firefighting, also known as waterbombing, is the use of aircraft and other aerial resources to Wildfire suppression, combat wildfires. The types of aircraft used include fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Smokejumpers and rappellers ar ...

version, able to scoop 25 tonnes (28 tons) of water and transport a team of firefighters.Gordon, Sal'nikov and Zablotskiy 2006, p. 69. Later the same designation was used for a projected

maritime patrol aircraft A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over ...

in direct competition with the

Tupolev Tu-204 The Tupolev Tu-204 () is a twin-engined medium- range narrow-body jet airliner capable of carrying 210 passengers, designed by Tupolev and produced by Aviastar-SP and Kazan Aircraft Production Association. First introduced in 1995, it was in ...

P.Gordon, Sal'nikov & Zablotskiy 2006, p. 67. ;A-40PM/Be-40P: A projected civil version developed in 1994. Intended to carry 105 passengers, an export version with CFM engines was also offered. These studies led to the development of the

Beriev Be-200 The Beriev Be-200 ''Altair'' () is a jet aircraft, jet-powered amphibious aircraft, amphibious flying boat of utility type designed and built by the Beriev, Beriev Aircraft Company. Marketed as being designed for aerial firefighting, fire figh ...

.Gordon, Sal'nikov and Zablotskiy 2006, p. 70. ;Be-40PT: A projected cargo/passenger version designed to carry 70 passengers, 10 tonnes (11 tons) of cargo or 37 passengers and up to 6.5 tonnes of cargo. ;A-42/Be-42: A

version designed to replace the

PS, in response to the K-278 disaster. Construction of a prototype began, but was suspended in 1993. Studies are currently being made of a joint A-42/44 multi-role version, fitted with

propfan A propfan, also called an open rotor engine, open fan engine is an aircraft engine combining features of turbofans and turboprops. It uses advanced, curved propeller blades without a ducted fan, duct. Propfans aim to combine the speed capabili ...

s.Gordon, Sal'nikov and Zablotskiy 2006, pp. 70–73. ;A-44: Maritime patrol version designed in tandem with the A-42 before the projects were merged into a multi-role aircraft in 1993. ;A-42PE: Projected maritime patrol and SAR version intended for export. Powered by two Progress D-27 propfans.Gordon, Sal'nikov & Zablotskiy 2006, pp. 73–74.

Specifications (A-40)

References

Bibliography

* Yefim Gordon, Andrey Sal'nikov and Aleksandr Zabotskiy (2006) ''Beriev's Jet Flying Boats''. Hinckley, UK: Midland Publishing. * * {{USAF/DoD reporting names A-40 Jet seaplanes and flying boats Amphibious aircraft Engine-over-wing aircraft Flying boats High-wing aircraft T-tail aircraft Twinjets Aircraft first flown in 1986 1980s Soviet patrol aircraft 1980s Soviet anti-submarine aircraft