In 1974, Bartini proposed a project for the strategic ekranoplane-aircraft carrier A-2500, for which a super-heavy ekranoplane was chosen as the basis.

The dimensions of the A-2500 were more than impressive. In one of the variants, the ekranoplane aircraft carrier had a take-off weight of 2500 tons and overall dimensions of 183x129x48 m. Such an ekranoplane would carry on board an air group of 15–25 combat aircraft of various types. The ship’s crew consisted of 430 people (250 of them were the air group). Its power plant consisted of 10 turbofan engines with a takeoff thrust of 30–33 tons each.