Forget electric car, Ukraine has electric combat kayaks with grenade launchers

Stealth combat operations on water now has a new predator. At a time when the world is increasingly focusing on electric cars and two-wheelers, the army in Ukraine is in possession of battery-powered kayaks that are meant to silently cut through water to carry out sensitive missions.

Electric kayaks aren't exactly brand new but what makes the Poloz-M16 of the Ukraine army effective is that it is relatively affordable at around $2,500 per unit. That's cheaper than even some of the Apple MacBooks in the market.

Manufactured domestically by Ukrainian defense company called Adamant Verf, the Poloz-M16 electric kayak can be operated through conventional padals as well as a small electric motor. Interestingly, the motor can be controlled from a remote location as well.

Each unit of the Poloz-M16 electric kayak can carry up to three soldiers and support a weight of up to 250 kilos. For firepower, each unit is equipped with a UAG-40 automatic-fire grenade launcher on its bow. From it, grenades can be launched as far as two kilometres. There is provision for the recoil to be absorbed in order to keep the kayak steady in the immediate aftermath of a firing.

The Poloz-M16 electric kayak may not be an out-and-out marine assault vehicle option but as an option for reconnaissance, ferrying man and materials as well as for spitfire missions, it has reportedly already proved its viability. Much of its areas of operations in the past is still classified but various reports suggest that these electric kayaks have become an integral part of the country's military operations.