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A Turkish company, SolidAero has developed the Talay, an uncrewed ekranoplan—also known as a ground-effect vehicle—drone that can be used to undertake sea-skimming attacks on coastal targets. According to its manufacturer, the Talay can reach a maximum speed of 200 kilometers per hour and deliver a 30-kilogram payload over a distance of 200 kilometers.
While a high explosive warhead of this size cannot sink a large warship, let alone a large merchant ship, it can be used to attack port infrastructure and the diverse array of small ships and barges that are found in ports of all sizes worldwide. A munition with a 30-kilogram warhead can also be productively used to attack targets which store and/or deliver fuels and petrochemicals, which is to say targets for which the secondary effects of damage can be far greater than the primary effects of damage. It goes without saying that other countries may pursue a larger, longer-range, and heavier payload ekranoplan/ground-effect vehicle strike drones that better align with their military requirements and military-geographical context.
Ekranoplans/ground-effect vehicles blur the line between a high-speed surface vessel and a fixed-wing aircraft. The Talay and similar designs offer militaries a distinct approach to attacking coastal targets. While the payload of the Talay is much smaller than what is possible with an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) that is used to target surface ships, an ekranoplan that flies at a very low altitude above the water is more difficult to detect and intercept and also has a much shorter time-to-target than a USV. Although armed single-use USVs that function as the surfaced analogues to torpedoes may play an important role in some navies, the development of the Talay ekranoplan strike drone serves as a reminder that other options are available.