SHARE

Belarus may be in the middle of an unprecedented political crisis, but that isn't stopping the country's military from testing out some brand new toys — including, apparently, a three-wheeled all-terrain combat vehicle that can best be described as a murdercycle.

Footage first shown by state-run military affairs broadcaster VoentTV shows members of the Belarusian Ground Forces operating an ATV with three massive wheels and what appears to be a 7.62mm PKM machine gun mounted on its front.

The footage was first brought to our attention by Rob Lee, an expert on Russian military affairs at King's College London:

Details regarding this unusual-looking vehicle are scarce, but according to Lee, it's a Belarusian-made Konung military tricycle. 

First unveiled at the MILEX military hardware in Minsk in May 2019, the Konung bike was designed to “[be] used by scouts to perform special operations in the rear of the enemy, bring equipment and ammunition, and evacuate the wounded,” according to BelarusFeed.

Indeed, the VoentTV footage posted by Lee shows Belarusian service members operating the vehicle through a variety of maneuvers — from laying down suppressive fire to transporting a wounded soldier — with the vehicle apparently capable of carrying at least four or five troops comfortably.

While it's unclear whether Belarus will actually end up adopting the Konung as a practical vehicle for ground operations, one thing is clear: this high-powered tricycle is, without a doubt, an absolute unit. Just bask in the glory of this vehicle in action in GIF form:

Related: A Libyan militia rigged a Humvee with a monster 90mm cannon

Jared Keller
Jared Keller

Jared Keller is the former managing editor of Task & Purpose. His writing has appeared in Aeon, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the New Republic, Pacific Standard, Smithsonian, and The Washington Post, among other publications. Contact the author here.

Europe
Region & Country
Vehicles
European Command