Hybrid-electric vehicles required for stealth missions in the Arctic
Canada’s Department of National Defence posted a public tender in Ottawa for the development of a “stealth snowmobile for covert military operations in Canada’s Arctic,” the Toronto Star reports. The federal government has put aside $550,000 to build a prototype of the hybrid-electric snowmobile that would give Canadian soldiers the ability to traverse frozen landscapes in complete silence. The government document says gas-powered engines are too loud for missions that may require covertness, and the snowmobile prototype must be built with a special “silent mode.” The document does not include details regarding any covert missions that require discrete snow vehicles.