The Military Is Buying Electric Jet-ski Robots
Tests will see whether battery-powered personal watercraft can help with search-and-rescue
PATRICK TUCKER | SEPTEMBER 22, 2022 06:45 PM ET
NAVY
Jet skis look great in spy movies, but for actual military use, they have some big drawbacks. They’re noisy gas-guzzlers and inconvenient aboard a warship, which must find a safe and secure place to store their fuel. The future of jet skis for elite SEAL teams looks and sounds different. On Thursday, the Defense Innovation Unit and electric jet ski maker T3MP3ST told Defense One that they have inked a deal to help the military experiment with electric jet skis that can be converted into autonomous drones.
The T3MP3ST Maverick GT Ski is the brainchild of Nico Sell, one of the founders of encrypted messaging app Wickr. An avid surfer and sports enthusiast, Sell started her new venture in part to produce a jet ski she could feel good about using.
“A typical jet ski or snowmobile produces 200 times the emissions of one car,” she said.
Her electric jet ski also solves several problems that have generally dissuaded the naval use of personal watercraft.
https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2022/09/military-buying-electric-jet-ski-robots/377532/
