Russia's airborne forces chief, Col. Gen. Vladimir Shamanov, kicked off the development of the purported air-dropped snowmobiles a few months back. He came up with the idea following his visit to the northern Yaroslavl region.

According to the Russian newspaper Komsolskaya Pravda, Shamanov said that the snowmobile flies, shoots, and helps keep the driver warm. A new machine that weighs nearly 705 pounds will help in doing so. A liquid-cooled engine is used to power it and it is having a 14.5-gallon fuel tank.

Using this type of vehicle, Russian troops can speed at 62 miles per hour when they are on the ground. In addition to that, the vehicle is outfitted with heated handles.

The RusskayaMekhanika plant was used to manufacture the snowmobiles. It is having an agreement with defense ministry of Russia to develop 130 snowmobiles in addition to 110 all-terrain vehicles in the coming years. According to the RusskayaMekhanika's top management, they are looking forward to come up with some changes and the project will help keep their company in business.

According to the vehicle's designer AndreyZhogin, "First, this snowmobile has an armored fuel tank like those on combat helicopters. If shot through, it 'self-heals.' Second, it has a special cooling system that prevents the engine from overheating".

Defense ministry of Russia gave orders to develop the snowmobiles in a way that they could be used, while in an airplane or helicopter. Designers of the snowmobile are continuously making efforts in this direction since it is not an easy task.