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Canadian Military Developing Stealth Snowmobile
innocent_white_lamb writes "The Canadian military is currently testing a $620,000 hybrid-electric stealth snowmobile. Testing includes speed, towing capacity, endurance, mobility, usability, and of course, noise emissions. The testing and most other information about the stealth snowmobile is secret and very little information has been released other than the fact that it does exist. One document reads 'The noise level of an internal combustion engine cannot be reduced to an acceptable level for missions where covertness may be required, especially given the increased propagation of sound in cold, dry, Arctic air.' Therefore, National Defence's research agency is 'pursuing the development of a "silent" snowmobile for winter operations in Canada, specifically in the Arctic.' Michael Byers, an Arctic policy expert, questions the need for a stealth snowmobile. 'I don't see a whole lot of evidence that criminals and terrorists are scooting around Canada's North on snowmobiles and that we have to sneak up on them,' he said."
Step 1.
Paint it white.
Step 2.
Have a beer eh!
One of them falls in and sinks. Another one goes in and pulls him back into the boat and starts giving him mouth-to-mouth. He stops and says "Phew! I don't remember Stosh smelling this bad!". And the other one says, "Yeah, and I don't remember him wearing a snowmobile suit, either."
I attempt to cross Nunavut in a Range Rover. Captain Slow takes a rather novel approach. And Hammond uses a state of the art stealth /snow mobile/. Tonight on Top Gear. *cue theme*
Join the Slashcott! Stay away entirely Feb 10 thru Feb 17! Close all tabs to prevent autorefresh!
Commies to her right, stealth snowmobiles to her left. Does DEFCON go to 11?
I hope the Mounties gets first dibs!
has been used for arctic warfare for hundreds of years as a cheap, effective way of stealthily moving a snowy environment. Hopefully the stealth sled won't ruin those capabilities.
All efforts are lost if you're carrying your iPhone on a stealth-snowmobile. (It's a sticker)
Michael Byers, an Arctic policy expert, questions the need for a stealth snowmobile. 'I don't see a whole lot of evidence that criminals and terrorists are scooting around Canada's North on snowmobiles and that we have to sneak up on them,'
Then Michael Byers is not quite the expert: when the ice cap in the North Pole shrinks or disappears completely, a whole new theater will come into play. Claims have already been filed for integration of the North Arctic Ocean into their exclusive economic zones from several countries, including Canada.
The three laws of thermodynamics:(1) You can't win. (2) You can't break even. (3) You can't even quit.
I guess they painted it white and put a muffler on it. :D
Well, if you wanted it quiet, I don't think a muffler would really do it.
I suspect you'd have to put in a completely different engine.
I'm not giving a large probability to a pure electric for two reasons:
. . First, most batteries don't seem to do that well in the really cold environments. You know, like Canada and Alaska, among many others.
. . Second, batteries, especially ones designed for really cold places, just wouldn't give it much range, which would be a vital concern for the locations you'd primarily be using a snowmobile.
As long as they don't have to cancel the F-35 contract to fund it... :-/
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
After the dual poutine cannons find their mark, targets will feel sluggish and satisfied. Canuck tech rules the globe.
Paint it white....just don't you canucks forget where you park it.
Stealth moose already exist. And they can be more effective at taking out an unsuspecting vehicle than a Predator drone...
I live in Canada, and I LOVE our government's goofy dedication to making sure we retain military capabilities in the frozen north. (bit less happy with everything else the gov does, but ehhhh, politics)
Stealth snowmobile? FUND IT! More Icebreakers? FUND IT! New ice-base in the Arctic Circle? DO YOU EVEN NEED TO ASK?!
Honestly, it beats the heck out of invading Iraq.
The story is a bit misleading, by the way. $640,000 is the cost of the development contract, not the price per machine (which will be significantly lower, obviously).
Canada has concerns about protecting the sovereignty of its arctic territories. Snowmobiles could prove useful in that.
Battle for the Arctic heats up
Defending our sovereignty in the Arctic
Why everyone wants a piece of the Arctic
much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
You don't poke a turd without getting shit on your finger,
"I believe in Karma. That means I can do bad things to people all day long and I assume they deserve it." : Dogbert
What will be said is, "Sooo, you didn't hear us coming, sorry, eh."
Silence is a state of mime.
($640,000 CAN) ought be enough for eveybody to have one eh?
A man spends the first half of his life accumulating stuff, the second trying to get rid of it all.
Have gnu, will travel.
Don't worry, we are already working on a defense, called global warming.
Quonset hut, you fucking retard.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quonset_hut
THL phish sticks
April Fool's is actually celebrated August 18th in Canada.
*** Don't be dull.***
i know more than a few hundreds fellow canadians that would love the opportunity to burn your white house down again
Don't flatter yourself. That was the British, who were your masters.
Show yer beaver, Canajians !!
Are you sure you want to see it?
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
If Sarah Palin can find them, they can't be THAT stealthy...
You don't get it. After living around Sarah Palin, that moose decided to commit suicide.
A hybrid-electric snowmobile seems a bit excessive if you're just trying to make it more stealthy. Switching up from a two cycle to a four cycle, adding some soundproofing and extending the muffler system would make one pretty quiet but not cost much as most of it would be off the shelf tech and would probably extend the range by using a more efficient engine and keeping the weight low. You're going to lose a bit of performance but that is always to be expected when going for stealth.
Canada has had these for years. Check em out all over Google eh! https://www.google.com/search?q=dog+sled&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=qpIRUsPeLqHOyAGx2oA4&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=993
Not really, no. The Queen have a delegate who have no power what-so-ever and is subject to very strict budget control, even if disabled.
Tomorrow is another day...
I mean we're canadians we should have the best damn snowmobiles for our army money could by, i'd rather spend the cash on that than those crappy jets the US is pushing on us or spending the money sending our people to some 3rd world shit hole helping solve problems created by americans
Or it failed in its mission...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federation_of_Quebec_Maple_Syrup_Producers#Strategic_reserve
What part of `yes no` don't you understand?
Yep, I think it's probably a waste of money for the military, but I'm glad they're doing it because the technology will spin off to commercial snowmobiles for civilian use. I'm all for quieter snowmobiles.
They wouldn't even have to ask twice.
The Queen [has] a delegate who [has] no power what-so-ever...
So how does the Canadian system handle a double dissolution? - Not saying you're wrong, I'm genuinely interested because here in Oz it's the job of the Queen (as represented by the GG) to force a new general election should one be required to break a budgetary deadlock. Surely you don't use the idiotic government IOU's the US uses to work around the occasional budgetary deadlocks brought on by zealous ideologues staring each other down in the house and senate?
Note that the Aussie GG is appointed by the Aussie parliament and rubber-stamped by the Queen. The prime-minister has the (on paper) power to sack him/her without notice or reason, so the power is not solely invested in either the GG or the PM. However it is virtually a political impossibility for a PM to sack the GG in a double dissolution situation and then fail to immediately call a general election. The accepted protocol for a double dissolution is to give the PM ample opportunity to call an election before contemplating sacking him and installing a caretaker government. Any PM willing to go as far as sacking the GG to hold onto power would almost certainly lose their job in a no-confidence vote, either in their own caucus, in the house of reps, or in the next election.
At the end of the day the Queen is a ceremonial head of state in Australia, she has one very specific political duty of any consequence, the role of a non-partisan "umpire" in the rare cases where the senate has rejected the government's budget at least twice in a row (aka: "blocked supply").
More than a few of our mates in the US cannot wrap their head around the 'ceremonial' qualifier but most of the commonwealth can see the difference and actually strongly prefer it to a US style republic. Thing is, US politics is so ubiquitous in the mass media that until the recent round of revolving PM's in Australia, many Aussies firmly believed they voted for a PM in the same way that the US votes for a president, in fact I'm sure there's more than a handful of Aussies that still hold that misconception.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
> The noise level of an internal combustion engine cannot be reduced to an acceptable level for missions where covertness may be required, especially given the increased propagation of sound in cold, dry, Arctic air.
Snowmobiles generally use Wankel-type internal combustion enginee. This is because total failure is not an option. If the engine quits in the middle of nowhere you either freeze into an iceball or Mr. Polar Bear gets a de luxe supper... Multi-rotor Wankel engines, even if they lose tight sealing, will continue to spin and provide a rreduced level of power for some time, usually allowing the riders to reach refuge. Piston engines, while less noisy and more economical on lubrication and fuel oils, do not have this level of extra safety.
It is very dubious, if a hybrid snowmobile could be made safe enough for SOLAS reqs, considering the risk of short circuits and the various problems with battery cell capacity loss at below-freezing temperatures. Maybe a Stirling engine (external combustion weirdness) could be utilized, which is silent and has most benefits of a steam engine without the risk of boiler explosions. I think Canada already has non-nuclear submarines with LOX-based Stirling engines for air independent submerged propulsion?
For respect with traditions, we do the same. However we rapatriated ALL constitutional rights in 1982.
Tomorrow is another day...
This will be handy for going to war with Moose.
*Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
Stealth moose already exist. And they can be more effective at taking out an unsuspecting vehicle than a Predator drone...
My money's on the stealth polar bears.
Snowmobiles are irritatingly noisy. for homeowners in Arctic regions, for animals in their native habitats, for hunters or photographers exploring those regions, and even for kids and hobbyists tooling around for fun, reducing the noise impact of snowmobiles would be very useful. A much quieter snowmobile would have a ready market, as long as it wasn't ridiculously expensive.
That raises the question of "Why isn't there already a privately built such vehicle?". Do they face the problem we in IT constantly see, of people who think we're spending too much money because it takes us so long to do the first version of a new system, to test it, and to make sure it actually works in wet snow?
Pennywise doesn't like uninvited visitors.
Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
Karma: Chameleon
That was it's mission: to destabilize the political climate by giving her an aura of expertise that would appeal to her voter base. A false flag political self-martyrdom.
The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
A stealth moose bit my sister once....
After injecting millions into the project(that's like, billions for us Canadians), we've still seen nothing, it's a total success!
The Queen have [sic] a delegate who have [sic] no power what-so-ever
Incorrect. A recent example is BC's Lieutenant Governor Lam, who stated he would have removed Premier van der Zalm from office, had van der Zalm not resigned.
During a recent federal election, when the polls suggested a possible NDP / Liberal coalition the question was raised to to whom the Governor General would select as Prime Minister - The minority house leader, or the coalition leader. The GG would, in effect, select Her Majesty's Prime minister.
Judging from the amount of education you've demonstrated, you're lucky if you can dress yourself in the morning.
Remember something Canadians, you exist only because the US allows it
This from someone whose entire nation only exists because the French allowed it.
> Not saying you're wrong
He is wrong:
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=4102779&cid=44606969
After Spectre or whoever heisted their Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve last year, it only makes sense to beef up their military. To do any less would be irresponsible.
After all, next time it might be C.O.B.R.A. Make sure to load those snowmobiles with parachutes.
...Or a Quinzee?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinzee
Don't piss on the walls. They'll melt.
The Arctic policy analyst responsible for this program has been sacked.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Kwanza Hut?
Isn't that your one-stop shop for all your African-American Winter harvest festival decorations?
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
That's silly stuff. I am a firm Canadian nationalist, but the idea that we hold the US to ransom when it comes to oil is ludicrous (and thankfully so). True, their SPR is a mere 100 days or so at peak capacity, but that's more than your two weeks, and that's completely ignoring their ability to bring new domestic and international resources on line and use pricing if they were blockaded.
The idea that Canadians' cutting off supply could cripple the US in 2 weeks is beyond silliness. True, cutting the US off would cause the US to pay great attention to us, though not necessarily in a good way. But keep in mind Canada would suddenly be deprived of 80%+ of her exports, since the US would surely retaliate. If we said 'F U USA' during a cold winter (which a great many Canadians would disagree with, for we tend to regard the US as close relatives, albeit annoying ones) do you serious believe the USA would not retaliate?
Ok, I am in Quebec. It may well be different around here. And yes, I can be wrong.
Tomorrow is another day...
van der Zalm?
hebben jullie geen eigen politici en moeten deze vanuit Nederland importeren?
Is er misschien nog een plekkie vrij voor me? zo iets als Minister van financiën zou me goed bevallen...
Stuur me een email als jullie geïnteresseerd zijn!
Groeten uit Holland (Noord-Holland, hoor, het echte dus)
-- 29A the number of the Beast
OK only half joking here:
If trying to establish Sovereignty in the north, "stealth" snowmobiles is the last thing you need. Heck take the mufflers off! The problem of the north is it is big, and empty. You need to let everyone know that "Hey we have been here, and are doing stuff, etc...". Being stealthy about it and no one knows.
Anyway this is just more DOD lunacy and Harper/Conservatives pro-military agenda. This couldn't be more of a funnel money to military for no reason if they tried.
This is just like the "hardened" warships they ordered (frigates I believe) for billions. Unless the evil master plan is to use the tar sands pollution to melt the arctic enough so that they might actually be able to go there (Watch youtube videos of actual icebreakers getting stuck, wonder how long a frigate might last)... No to mention there is no one to fight there ever, nor will their ever be.
What Canada should have spent its money on was Nuclear Icebreakers and Helicopters capable of rescue missions. If you want to show you control a certain area, that would be the way to do it. Look at the biggest heavy hitter in the whole group, Russia, how many Nuclear Ice Breakers do they have compared to Canada. Not to mention the good they would do for remote communities. Anyway its crazy.