Listen, I'll never not be one who applauds scrappy ingenuity. I'm a huge fan of it, especially since I've personally relied on that sort of out-of-the-box, I'm-very-broke-and-can't-afford-the-real-thing thinking for as long as I've been alive. But at a certain point, you cross the threshold of "That's brilliant thinking!" to, "What were you smoking?"
I suspect we're close with this, as this just screams idle hands, loads of hash, and a personal disdain for doing anything the easy way.
What the hell am I talking about, you ask? Well, fine sirs and madams, what you're looking at here is an "ATV" supposedly owned and operated by the Egyptian army, complete with a very large machine gun mounted ahead of the driver with a gunner behind them. But if you look closely, you'll actually see that it's not an ATV at all. In fact, it's a machine designed for a wildly different climate than the deserts of North Africa.
Yep, that's a Polaris snowmobile with a couple wheels at the front, and I have so many more questions than answers, honestly.
Egyptian Armoured ATV technical with FN MAG GPMG
by u/Sad-Commission2027 in shittytechnicals
To anyone who's seen a snowmobile before, as well as an ATV, it's sort of obvious that this is not an ATV at all, and that it suspiciously looks like a Polaris snowmobile, as those lights are indicative of the brand. Likewise, those wheels at the front definitely don't look like the off-road tires of a normal ATV, as they're incredibly small. Plus, the snowmobile track setup is still at the back. So yeah, it's a snowmobile with tires. Why is it being used by the Egyptian army, though?
Here's what I've learned about this machine.
First, as you can see in the Reddit post above, there's some script along its side that says "Sand-X." A quick Google search reveals that this is what the machine is called, and is built by a company called Eiselin Landsystems out of Germany. The company supposedly specializes in this sort of conversion, which gets rid of the snowmobile/ATV nomenclature and calls it a "Dual-Operating Vehicle," in that it can be swapped from snow to dirt by switching out the front ends.
Which sort of makes sense, as usually when you have a winter climate, you also get a spring, summer, and fall season where snowmobiles sit idle. This extends their use-case. But Egypt doesn't have seasons like that. What it does have is a lot of sand, and that's sort of where I can see a tracked rear end maybe helping out.
According to the company, "With the SAND-X DOV, no terrain is too rugged or unforgiving. Its cutting-edge design and advanced track system provide unparalleled traction, allowing you to navigate through muddy swamps, dense forests, rocky mountainous terrains, and sandy deserts with ease. Say goodbye to getting stuck or slowed down, and embrace the freedom to go wherever your mission takes you."
It adds, "The SAND-X DOV is engineered to excel in all seasons, ensuring your operations remain unhindered regardless of the weather conditions. Rain or shine, scorching heat or freezing cold, this formidable machine maintains its unwavering performance, enabling you to carry out missions without compromise."
Oh yeah, and you can get a drone version, too. Because if you're going to have any sort of military vehicle these days, you need it to be remotely operated or use AI.
As for Egypt's "DOV", I'm fascinated by the rider-gunner setup. The machine gun in question appears to be a Belgian-built FN MAG belt-fed 7.62 unit, and it features a mounted setup for better stability. But the mount is ahead of the driver of the DOV, while the gunner sits behind the driver. Why I'm confused, however, is that with this setup, the driver is going to get hot brass right in their lap and/or down their collars, and that sucks, speaking from experience.
You're also going to have tinnitus real bad. But, man, ingenuity is sooooo close to insanity and this one definitely blurs that line.
