The Canadian military wants to make stealth snowmobiling something more than sneaking out of the house for a day of riding without the wife noticing.
According to a report on CTV.ca, Canada’s Department of Defence wants to build a new snowmobile for use in the country’s Arctic. A public tender has been posted for a hybrid-electric snowmobile and $550,000 has been secured for building a prototype.
The stealth snowmobile will be used for covert operations and the Department of Defence has made it clear that silence is a top priority.
“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,” reads the tender. “Electric snowmobiles are a potential solution to this problem, eliminating the internal combustion engine and using a much quieter electric motor to drive the track system.”
