Combat Kayaks in Ukraine

 ABC News:

In a quiet bay of the Dnipro River, a one-hour drive from Kyiv, a group of Ukrainian engineers and special forces soldiers tested what they believe can be a game-changer in the Ukrainian counteroffensive: the Poloz-M16 combat kayak.

What otherwise looks like the familiar watercraft has been redesigned for special military purposes – in the Kherson region, for example, where the front line parallels the wide Dnipro, with multiple islands between its banks.

"To design something like this you have to build boats for 30 years. That's what I've been doing," says Serhiy Ostashenko, CEO of the Adamant Verf company, which produces the kayaks. He designed the Poloz-M16 overnight, he said, after special forces soldiers came to him with a need, and an idea.

"Poloz-M16 is similar to what the American and British soldiers have been using, but it's ten times cheaper, around 2,500 dollars per item," Ostaschenko explained to ABC News.

Ukraine has two seas –- the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov – and around 3,000 rivers, so kayaks like the Poloz-M16 are a must-have, engineers and soldiers said.

The Poloz-M16 is designed not for assault but rather for covert operations. It's quiet, lightweight and maneuverable, with the ability to carry up to three people and 250 kilograms of cargo, around 550 pounds. It's also durable, made of a special polyethylene that can weather extreme temperatures, mechanical damage and last 50 years, or longer. The Poloz-M16 can be transported by a land vehicle or dropped onto the water from a helicopter. It can also be controlled on the water remotely.

What particularly makes the Poloz-M16 a combat kayak is a Ukrainian-produced NATO-type UAG-40 grenade launcher mounted in the bow, which can fire a projectile at a distance of up to just over a mile. A special mechanism absorbs the weapon's recoil, keeping the kayak stable on the water.

"So our Poloz is not afraid of any bulletproof speed boat. It can hide in the reeds and fire at the enemy like in a shooting range," Ostashenko said.
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I suspect it is useful in backwater operations and shallow waterways, but I think it would be vulnerable in deep water areas like the Black Se and Azos Sea where it would have to deal with ships that are not particularly vulnerable to grenade launchers.