Defense forces around the world are known to operate in harsh climatic conditions. To operate in such conditions they require specialized equipment and gears. Snowmobile is one such machine which is used by armed forces around the world to ferry goods and personnel over snowy surfaces. Now thanks to the efforts of the Canadian armed forces, the good old snowmobile will now become stealthy.
Department of National Defence in Canada is planning to build stealthy snowmobiles. A tender in this regard has already been issued to the potential manufacturers. An amount of $550,000 has already been set aside by the department for development of the machine. These snowmobiles would be used by the Canadian forces in the Arctic region which is under Canadian control. These stealthy snowmobiles would greatly enhance Canadian military’s ability to undertake covert operations in the far reaches areas of the north.
These stealthy snowmobiles would also be eco-friendly since they would be powered by hybrid engines instead of the conventional combustion engines that power the snowmobiles of today.
These future snowmobiles would be quieter compared to the existing ones. That is where the stealth feature of the machine comes in. The noise level of the existing snowmobiles cannot be reduced and this high noise level acts as a big handicap when it comes to undertaking covert missions. Electric engines are being seen as a potential solution to this problem since it would replace the combustion engine and will be powered by a much quieter electric motor.
According to the tender, the snowmobiles would have to have a range of at least 15 km with an average speed of 20 km/h when it operates in the quiet electric mode. In the gas mode, it would have to have a range of at least 100 km with an average speed of 30 km/h. The vehicle should also have a top speed of 75 km/h and a payload capacity of at least 250 kg on a sled. This tender follows a slew of measures taken by the new Conservative Government in order to bolster the fledgling Canadian military.
Via: CTV
