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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."

18 of 187 comments (clear)

  1. They did the impossible! by Dj+Stingray · · Score: 5, Funny

    Step 1.

    Paint it white.

    Step 2.

    Have a beer eh!

  2. Three Canadians are in a boat fishing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    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."

    1. Re:Three Canadians are in a boat fishing by AJWM · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Not entirely unbelievable. A dive buddy of mine was doing some part time commercial dive work. One spring he was helping inspect the cooling water intakes for a steam plant in downtown Ottawa, near the river. Guess what he found up against one of the gratings. Yeah, a guy who'd gone through the ice on a snowmobile that winter.

      Put him right off diving for a while, it did.

      --
      -- Alastair
    2. Re:Three Canadians are in a boat fishing by VortexCortex · · Score: 5, Funny

      He found it grating, eh?

  3. Tonight on Top Gear by Velex · · Score: 3, Funny

    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*

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    Join the Slashcott! Stay away entirely Feb 10 thru Feb 17! Close all tabs to prevent autorefresh!
    1. Re:Tonight on Top Gear by Shadow+of+Eternity · · Score: 3, Funny

      And then halfway through they completely fake the snowmobile failing and spend the rest of the episode poo pooing it over something that never actually happened.

      --
      A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
  4. "Expert" ? by arisvega · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.
    1. Re:"Expert" ? by quantaman · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's not about a war. It's about establishing sovereignty, and to maintain control over a territory you need to be police it.

      The northwest passage is a big issue over whether it's international waters or Canadian waters. Not just because of potential oil drilling or fishing, but shipping is a big issue. It's a lot easier to ensure the shipping is done safely so a ton of oil isn't dumped on our coastline if we can police the waters. Security is also a concern as there's a lot of unpopulated places for smugglers to drop cargo or illegal immigrants.

      A military grade stealth snowmobile is part of the bigger picture, it makes it easier to patrol the territory and search for smugglers or other criminals as well as shows we're taking that part of our territory seriously.

      --
      I stole this Sig
  5. Re:Has Sarah Palin been alerted? by NoNonAlphaCharsHere · · Score: 4, Funny

    No, but her IQ does.

  6. Re:Stealth schmealth by Dahamma · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Stealth moose already exist. And they can be more effective at taking out an unsuspecting vehicle than a Predator drone...

  7. Re:I'm all for it by WoodenTable · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I hope they do decide against the F-35 contract. It's ridiculously overpriced for our military, especially given that the F-35s aren't even all that well designed for frozen-weather operations.

    Personally, I think Boeing's Super Hornets are a much better offer. Half the projected price, bigger control surfaces for easier landings on ice and better agility in the air, and two engines so that if one stalls in the cold the other can keep the plane going.

  8. Re: Greetings from the Frozen North. by AJWM · · Score: 5, Informative

    By the way thank you for purchasing our exported talent.

    Just repayment for all those ex-Avro aerospace engineers that helped put Apollo on the moon.

    --
    -- Alastair
  9. Re:Cross Country Skiing by gandhi_2 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I dunno if you have any experience pulling an ahkio sled for several miles with a squad in rucks and overwhites, but it freaking SUCKS. Tennis rackets or white rockets, it doesn't matter, it is an awful experience. There has been no experience in my life (which has experienced some exhausting things) that made me more exhausted.

    When some Canadian "Arctic policy expert" opines that no one needs a small, quiet, efficient prime mover because of a lack of "terrorists", I am reminded why no one asks "Arctic policy experts" about military matters. Same reason I don't ask soldiers about environmental policy.

  10. Re:Canada soon invades the US by Khashishi · · Score: 5, Funny

    Don't worry, we are already working on a defense, called global warming.

  11. Re:Cross Country Skiing by gandhi_2 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yes. I was a hired mercenary for the dark ubergovernment of illuminati jews involved in countless illegal wars to advance the agenda of... i forget who. they gave us this big briefing and explained it all but they lost me when they started talking about how the CIA / Kennedys was trying to kill all the Christians AND topple the Godless regimes too. The intro video was good though.

    Anywho... on the topic of military equipment and its use in advancing my jew banker / ubergovernment christian / corpotocracy / and communist new world order (which is tricky, as you can imagine) I would think my opinion SHOULD carry a little bit of weight. More so than say... yet another batshit insane conspiracy theorist or arctic policy expert. At least as it pertains to the ground soldier.

  12. Re:Cross Country Skiing by grcumb · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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.

    Not always useful in the Canadian Arctic. Pack ice sometimes extends for miles out to sea. It's a maze of 3-10 metre ridges that are an absolute bitch to navigate. Trying to pull ammo and supplies through on skis would be absolute torture. Hell, just crossing on a snowmobile through the pack ice on each side of the bay in Cape Dorset (maybe a kilometre and a half) left me sweating like a horse in -25 degree weather.

    There's not a lot of pack ice on the old Finnish/Soviet border....

    --
    Crumb's Corollary: Never bring a knife to a bun fight.
  13. Re:Has Sarah Palin been alerted? by Y-Crate · · Score: 3, Informative

    Commies to her right, stealth snowmobiles to her left. Does DEFCON go to 11?

    DEFCON 11 would be a state of peaceful tranquility unlike anything the world has seen since the dawn of humanity.

    You're looking for DEFCON 1.

  14. The strategic maple syrup reserve... by vjoel · · Score: 5, Funny
    --
    What part of `yes no` don't you understand?