[1] Also known by its Russian nickname of Tarielka (Тарелка, meaning "plate" or "saucer"), the EKIP can land on water or unpaved ground through the use of an air cushion instead of a wheeled undercarriage.

The need for a stabilization system and reduction of drag is due to the fact that the body of the apparatus, made in the form of a thick wing of small elongation, on the one hand, has a high aerodynamic quality and is able to create lifting force several times higher than a thin wing, on the other hand, it has low stability due to the disruption of flows and the formation of zones of turbulence.

The use of the "bearing wing" scheme provides a useful internal volume several times larger than that of promising aircraft of equal payload.

[4] The EKIP concept was developed by Professor Lev Nikolayevich Schukin (Russian: Лев Николаевич Щукин), an engineer trained in aircraft engine development who also worked for the NPO Energia rocket design corporation[5] and participated in the Soviet portion of the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project in 1975, the first US-Soviet space linkup.

[15] In 1994, reports about the EKIP began to appear in Western media, and the L3 model (which could carry 400 passengers or 40 tonnes of cargo) had earned provisional orders for 1,500 aircraft from the North Siberian Development Board, a Russian food distribution agency.

Even bigger variants of up to 128 m (420 ft) in span and 600 t (1,300,000 lb) in weight may use the 23,000 kgf (52,000 lbf; 230 kN), Progress D-18T turbofan for forward thrust instead of the NK-92, with the AL-34 engines still remaining for auxiliary purposes.

[14] Five commercial cargo/passenger variants were described at this time: the L2-3, L3-1, L3-2, L4-1, and L4-2, which had seating capacities covering 24 to 2,000 passengers, flying ranges of 1,300–4,600 nmi (2,500–8,600 km; 1,600–5,300 mi), and maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs) of 9–600 t (20,000–1,323,000 lb).

[7] Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Russian government granted the EKIP project 1.2 billion rubles of funding in June 1993.

In 1999, the development of the EKIP apparatus in Korolev was included as a separate line in the country's budget, but funding was interrupted and no money was received.

In September 2003, the Saratov Aviation Plant signed an agreement to work with the United States Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) to develop the EKIP.

The flight test program was to be conducted in Maryland at Naval Air Station Patuxent River's Webster Field within three to five years.

[citation needed] The unusual shape of the EKIP aircraft has been described as resembling a poached egg,[25] beetle,[13] cheese bell, or overturned bowl.

[27] Passenger versions of the EKIP would have large, dimmable, load-bearing windows, and the cabin noise level would be targeted for a maximum of 75 decibels (dB).

[14] To reduce aerodynamic resistance, a boundary layer control (BLC) system is used, which ensures a continuous, separation-free airflow around the aircraft by using a set of consecutive transverse vortices on the back surface of the EKIP.

[29] To improve the flying wing's lifting force and drag coefficient by a factor of 1.5 to 2, the BLC system needs the equivalent of only 3–6% of the rated power of the forward thrust engines.

Taking advantage of the BLC system gives the EKIP aircraft a high thickness-to-chord ratio of 30–35%, compared to 8–10% for the wing of a conventional airliner.

The second set pulls the air over the aircraft to add to the EKIP's velocity and reduce aerodynamic drag[33] through boundary layer control.

The latter set, which are referred to as auxiliary turboshaft engines, are run economically during cruise, but they work at maximum power during takeoff and landing to create an air cushion.

[5] The range of weapons that can be installed on EKIP, great due to the large carrying capacity and high maneuverability of the device.