Nereid Program
The Nereid Program was a military engineering project by the Republic of Syara centered around the development of Ground-effect vehicles, ostensibly for the Armed Forces of the Syaran Republic but also intended for civilian use as well. Ground-effect vehicles, known to the Syarans as Morskiedrillica (морски едрилица, literally sea glider), and commonly nicknamed "Nereids", were considered a possible new form of military craft and transport that employed the Ground effect, the increased lift an aicrafts' wings generate when close to a fixed surface. The existence of the ground effect on the surface of bodies of water led the Nereid Program to envision a fleet of military aircraft that could operate at high speeds while remaining low to the surface, while being more fuel efficient than aircraft and faster than traditional ships.
Despite some ground-breaking accomplishments, the Nereid Program failed to meet expectations due to a variety of factors, including cost, doctrinal purpose, and the inherent physical limitations of ground effect vehicles. Plans for a fleet of "Nereids" as they were called never materialized, with only a few dozen prototypes and early production vehicles ever made. The program effectively dissolved following the outbreak of the Refusal War, and the Government of Syara elected to not continue the program after the formation of the Commonality in 1988.
Background
Since the first days of aviation, pilots attempting to land had noticed that they experience an increase in lift when drawing within a few meters of the ground. This phenomena became known as the "ground effect", and was noted early on for its potential exploitation as a source of innovation. The tumultuous events of the Great War Era between 1916-1946 meant that research was often limited and interrupted, but by the 1960s the Syaran Republic was beginning to look into the concept of a fleet of ground-effect vehicles, spurred on by Syaran inventor Silvije Frijang who submitted several proposals for ground-effect vehicles to the Syaran government.
Ground-effect vehicles offered a potential new form of military craft for defense. In the aftermath of the Occupation of Syara, the Republic found itself once more needing to look to its own defense. Despite ongoing tensions with Ruvelka due to the Granika Border War, a major concern for the Republic was the potential for Syara to be drawn into an international conflict, something that seemed possible due to Syara straddling two major sea lanes through the Sundering Sea and the Nuadan Ocean. How to deal with the threat of a large hostile foreign navy was a vexed question for Syara strategists. Instituting a large naval buildup of warships was deemed infeasible owing to the large number of resources it would require, made even more costly owing to Syara's loss of shipbuilding expertise during the Broken Years. There were also political concerns that a large scale military buildup, similar to the Cruiser Race prior to the Siduri War, would damage Syara's already weakened international reputation.
Syaran naval strategy thus began to rely heavily on a large arsenal of long-range, powerful anti-ship missiles that could effectively sink any warship afloat, with the logic that whatever amount of warships built by the likes of Ossoria, Æþurheim, Acrea, Cacerta, or Tennai, the Syarans would be able to build more missiles. Delivery of anti-ship munitions relied on both ground based launchers and airborne platforms, specifically supersonic strategic bombers like the Coronis. Both these methods had their weaknesses; ground based launchers had limited range and bombers could be intercepted by fighter aircraft, which many carrier-borne fighters were built around. Without a substantial surface fleet (plans for a four carrier, 25 destroyer, 8 cruiser fleet were reduced to two carriers, 12 destroyers, and four cruisers), the Navy of the Syaran Republic desired a way of delivery powerful, rapid attacks upon hostile fleets to deter, and if necessary, repel combatant nations from infringing on Syaran waters.
Development
The adoption of Frijang's concepts led to the formation of the Nereid Program, centered around creating a fleet of ground-effect vehicles that could add another dimension to Syaran naval strategy. Ground-effect vehicles, or Morskiedrillica as they became to be known in Syara, offered a number of unique opportunities for military use. Frijang's designs called for a vehicle that would sit in the water at first, but once enough speed had been built up they would lift out of the water and ride on the cushion of air provided by the ground effect. Flying just a few meters off the surface of the water, the Nereids would be difficult to spot by radar, while being above the surface rendered them invisible to sonar and impervious to naval mines. The program's developers predicted that, once designs were finalized, construction of the Nereids would be relatively cheap compared to full scale warships. In addition, early testing showed remarkable capabilities for speed; the first prototype build by the program, Dynamene, reached speeds of over 100 kilometers an hour, and later designs like the much larger Amphinome exceeded 500 km/hr, leagues faster than any warship possible due to not having to worry about ocean drag.
Syaran planners envisioned the Nereids as a hit-and-run platform, using their fast speeds to close in on enemy fleets, firing off anti-ship missiles from relatively close distances, before retreating back to friendly waters. Difficult to detect by radar, and moving faster than any warship, the Nereids would also be difficult to attack by naval aviators trained mostly to deal with high flying bombers and fighter jets; in simulations Syaran pilots struggled to target the Nereids, who acted effectively as ultra-fast attack craft. Early success led Frijang to envision even larger platforms capable of carrying aircraft, and large transports capable of delivering companies of Syaran Naval Infantry.
Limitations
Despite promising results, the Nereid Program was plagued by issues and the limitations of ground effect vehicles as they were exposed through trials.
Even at their most agile, Nereids were notoriously difficult to fly, forcing pilots to continuously monitor and adjust for natural variations in the ground effect caused by waves and swells. The turn radius of the Nereids were exceptionally large, reducing their ability to avoid collisions and danger. Constant exposure to salt water proved a maintenance nightmare for mechanics, reducing their readiness levels significantly. Waves were also a major concern, as were rough seas which made early models of the Nereids virtually unusable; Syaran planners ultimately had to restrict their usage to the calmer waters of the Sanguine and Sundering Seas and refrain from entering the Nuadan Ocean. Hopes for larger craft were limited by the need to conserve weight to balance out lift and thrust; critics pointed out that apart from speed, the Nereids were inferior to traditional warships in numerous fields including firepower, range, and ability. Testing showed that crew survivability in the event of damage, either in combat or incidental, was limited owing to the design of the aircraft. Although claims were made that the aircraft would be cheap to produce once designs were finalized, the actual cost of testing, research, and development was expensive.
Some issues Syaran designers were able to overcome through refinement and further development. The Syarans discovered that the larger the craft, the easier it actually became to control, as the larger lift capacity rendered it less vulnerable to minor fluctuations in the ground-effect. Reinforced materials and changed layouts reduced the damage done by sea corrosion, and later models, including the Thaleia, were capable of flying at 30 meters above sea level, reducing the danger of waves. Nevertheless, persistent flaws and limitations resulted in the Syaran Navy scaling back its initial expectations of an entire fleet of Nereids, and instead opted to limit the effort to a handful of specialized craft better fitting the niche role they offered.
Dissolution
The outbreak of the Hayren War saw funds for the program diverted elsewhere, and the situation was further complicated when Frijang died in 1977. The program was scaled down to focus on refinement of a handful of designs, one for a large fleet attack vehicle, a troop transport model, a reconnaissance version, a search and rescue design, and an anti-submarine warfare prototype. The outbreak of the Refusal War effectively brought an end to the program, which by 1983 had produced a total of 16 craft in various states of readiness. The war saw most of these fall into disrepair and only two remained operation by 1988. Four more were reduced to working order after 1988, but the Syaran Commonality Navy ultimately decided against restarting the program, citing the costs and limitations of the platform.