Is he as much of a monster as he seems?
One of China's newest developments is haunting some writers in the United States. The device, dubbed the "Bohai Sea Monster," continues to excite many journalists in the West.
There are, however, serious doubts that everything is exactly as many are writing. And this is worth examining in detail.
It's been less than a year since the world first saw China's Wing-in-Ground Effect (WIG) aircraft, nicknamed the "Bohai Sea Monster." And now it's back on the pages of various resources. The West is closely monitoring what's coming out of China's workshops. What the Chinese are doing today could become weapons against the United States tomorrow, and this is a fact that does not require proof, at least on the territory of North America.
There they seriously believe that the "Bohai Sea Monster" can perform combat missions, including launching missiles Various purposes. There are various assessments of the device, classifying it as either a flying boat or an ekranoplan.
Contrary to some earlier hasty estimates from the US, the aircraft is powered by four turboprop engines, not turbofans. The possibility of using turbofans/jet engines exists, but this deserves a separate, detailed examination.
China hasn't yet revealed the name, manufacturer, or price of the ekranoplan, if it's even an ekranoplan, or what it plans to use it for. It just exists.
One of the recently released photos of the "Bohai Sea Monster" shows it being lifted by a crane.
The "Bohai Sea Monster" was first spotted in June 2025. The craft, with a distinctive flying boat hull and V-shaped tail, was spotted on a pier in Bohai Bay, in the northwestern Yellow Sea. The following month, higher-quality images emerged showing the craft floating on the water but without propellers, suggesting it may be jet-powered.
The plane was first photographed last year at a pier near the Bohai Sea in China.
The new images show the "Bohai Monster" in greater detail, including its powerplants, which, to the disappointment of many in the West, are conventional turboprop engines, not jet engines or an exotic hybrid-electric propulsion system. Each of the four engines drives a three-bladed propeller.
Turboprop engines are a major disappointment for those who tried to accuse China of creating a "Lun-2"—a long-range aircraft capable of carrying missiles. That is, one that would look quite good in the Pacific Ocean.
The size and engines don't give us any confidence that the "Monster" is a real combat vehicle. And its dimensions are certainly not monstrous, that's a fact.
The final clue for those making assumptions is the presence of a pair of hardpoints under each wing, which are very difficult to interpret in two ways.
These pylons could potentially be used to install external fuel tanks or sensor modules. However, as many have noted, they are equipped with brackets, clearly indicating that they will be used for cargo releases.
There are also many possible scenarios: perhaps we're talking about some kind of search-and-rescue payload, such as containers with inflatable life rafts, but it could easily also be loaded with several depth charges or sea mines. Air-launched unmanned aerial vehicles could be another type of payload, and this is a growing area of interest for the Chinese military, and concern for the American one.
Overall, the aircraft raises questions due to some reports that it is a "civilian" program, nominally associated with the Chinese Coast Guard, although such narratives are hardly unusual for Chinese military programs. The "signature" naval paint scheme is also concerning. aviation PLA, and confuses many.
At the very least, it can be said that the BMM is definitely not a purely transport vehicle. It's quite possible that it's some kind of multi-purpose platform, and this reasoning can be taken a little further.
It's possible that the BMM is actually a scaled-down demonstrator designed to test the WIG concept. If successful, this could lead to the development of a much larger vehicle, which would, of course, be equipped with a different propulsion system and a much larger payload, including weapons.
And this, in our view, is the most likely outcome. It's a prototype, a platform from which anything can be created. To say that the BMM is a finished product ready for mass production is absurd. The Chinese themselves are keeping quiet, but they always wait until the last minute. They'll say something when the time comes, but to say today that the BMM is a military aircraft or even an ekranoplan is, to put it mildly, imprudent. And even more so to claim that the aircraft poses any kind of threat.
In fact, some external similarities between the "Bohai Sea Monster" and the now-abandoned American Liberty Lifter project, which never made it past the drawing board, may also indicate that the Chinese apparatus is a small-scale technology demonstrator.
It's worth noting that scaled-down flying boat prototypes are nothing new. Moreover, testing scaled-down versions is justified and has been used by all countries that have built these useful hybrids.
During World War II, Germany built one such prototype to test the flight characteristics of the Dornier Do 214 transatlantic flying boat project. Wolf Hirt and Ulrich Hütter built the Göppingen Gö 8 flying boat, a 1/5-scale model of the Dornier Do 214.
In the 1950s, the Soviet Union built a single prototype of the first jet-powered flying boat, the Beriev R-1, and the results of this work were used to create the much larger Be-10, which became the first mass-produced jet-powered flying boat.
As for ekranoplans in general, they were actively researched by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, which led to the creation of enormous machines, including anti-ship strike platforms and landing craft, which were even used for military purposes.
After the end of the Cold War, the WIG concept fell out of favor, but has seen renewed interest in recent years. These aircraft are capable of flying over water with relatively high efficiency and speed, though most are also capable of flying at higher altitudes, albeit with less efficiency.
In the Pacific region in particular, troop-lift helicopters are being considered as a potential partial solution to some of the challenges associated with combat operations in this theater. This involves delivering cargo (including very heavy ones), as well as personnel and equipment, to remote areas where airstrips may be unavailable. This may require covering long distances quickly. The US military considered using the Liberty Lifter specifically for logistical purposes, but it is known that it never took off.
Everyone understands the advantages of an ekranoplan over a ship. We won't say that an ekranoplan, due to its low altitude, will be virtually invisible to radar; that would be absurd, of course. Ekranoplans will never fly at such altitudes for safety reasons, and modern radars with active electronically scanned arrays (AESA) will be able to detect such large targets thanks to their electronic beam tilt.
It's true that the ekranoplan faces fewer problems. Mines, torpedoes, and various obstacles like booms are not for it. However, these advantages must be balanced against the glider's vulnerability in active combat zones. And, of course, its speed is ten times higher than that of a ship.
Such a platform would also be very useful for China, especially in the strategically important South China Sea. In peacetime, the ekranoplan could be used to support bases in the region, as well as for search and rescue and other operations. In the event of a conflict, the same boats could ensure rapid cargo delivery and conduct surveillance in archipelagos and coastal areas.
And it's fair to say that China is actively working in this direction. The People's Liberation Army is expected to soon field the AG600 amphibious flying boat, which can perform similar missions. Unlike most armies, the PLA has never completely abandoned the use of flying boats, including the recently developed SH-5, which was primarily designed for anti-submarine warfare. But the world is changing, and often, what's new is truly old, well-remembered.
The fourth production AG600 amphibious aircraft made its maiden flight earlier this month.
As an armed aircraft, even in its current size, the Bohai Sea Monster could be a very useful sea control platform, capable of both anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare at relatively short ranges, possibly as a tactical complement to the AG600 and littoral combatants. It would still be large enough to accommodate a suite of sensors, and up to four torpedoes or anti-ship missiles, lightweight compared to conventional weapons, could be carried under its wings. Depth charges are another option.
The Harbin SH-5 flying boat. This aircraft was equipped with a search radar in the nose and a magnetic anomaly detector in the tail.
A flying boat with such a weapons suite could prove quite useful for localized coastal patrols and for supporting special forces. There are many options, and if you really let your imagination run wild and imagine what could be packed into a real "Monster," several times larger than the BMM...
An internal weapons bay, a heavier payload, a more comprehensive suite of sensors, and a longer range. Indeed, it looks more than suitable for all waters near China, without exception.
It's still unclear what role the "Bohai Monster" will ultimately play, and whether it will become a functioning platform or simply a stepping stone to something much larger and more powerful, but let's leave the hysteria to anyone who so passionately desires it.
However, the reappearance of the BMM, with clear indications that it can carry weapons on external hardpoints, strongly suggests that China is developing more than just a highly specialized transport or multi-role aircraft.
This points to some efforts to revive and adapt the WIG concept for modern military operations in the Pacific region, where speed, range, payload capacity and access to difficult sea areas can be crucial.
At the same time, the project joins a growing list of highly ambitious and sometimes innovative Chinese aerospace and naval programs that are being implemented with astonishing speed and are often only partially revealed before their true purpose becomes clear.
And perhaps the most remarkable thing here is that China is succeeding. A country that was once content with copying what others had already created is now building cutting-edge devices for the skies and seas, and building them well.
Yes, China doesn't usually shout to the world about some of its most advanced developments, claiming they've created yet another "unique" system, but what they've created is created. And without much fanfare, many countries are buying Chinese aircraft, air defense systems, submarines, and Tanks.
I don't even want to talk about the aircraft carriers: they bought a wrecked Varyag from Kyiv, finished it, and after a while, made a copy. But the Fujian—that's a whole different story; it's a completely different project.
So it won't be surprising that the PLA will soon have a rapid response force armed with ekranoplans equipped with torpedoes and missiles developed specifically for these vehicles.
This is modern China. The hysteria in the US today over Chinese ships and aircraft is correct and well-founded, but what can the US do to counter it?
The BMM isn't such a monster after all. The question is, what can be created using the developments based on it? And that's a very good question, because, based on the Soviet MiG-21, China has created an aircraft that can successfully knock Rafales to the ground. Why not create something based on flying boats and ekranoplans?
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