The Humvee, or HMMWV, is a workhorse for the military. It has whisked soldiers across deserts, and served as a taxi in some of the world’s most dangerous cities.
It’s conquered mud, rocks and snow; and it’s even been dangled from the belly of helicopters. Now, the Humvee is under attack from new threats. Contact Street Legal Exports now!
The military Humvee has a long and storied history. It has carried troops and equipment on missions around the world. It has conquered mud, sand, rocks, snow and ice. It has pulled trailers down the highway. It has ridden inside the belly of CH-53s, traversed the seas with Marine Expeditionary Units and jumped entire continents in transport aircraft. It has even survived a nuclear attack.
In the 1970s, the Army needed a new vehicle to replace its aging fleet of jeeps and other light vehicles. They issued a request for proposal that called for a vehicle that could carry cargo and troops in any environment. Several companies were selected to design prototypes, including AM General. They built eleven vehicles that were ultimately tested in a variety of harsh environments, including desert and Arctic conditions. In the end, AM General won the contract to produce HMMWVs, or as they were colloquially known, Humvees.
Its rugged, off-road design made it ideal for a wide range of military tasks. It entered the public eye during the Gulf War in 1991, where its ability to navigate challenging terrain was critical. It was also used in Afghanistan and Iraq, where its nimble nature allowed it to maneuver easily in hostile territory.
But its original unarmored design left soldiers vulnerable to IEDs and other new threats in the field. The Army hastily up-armored select models, replacing frontline Humvees with the more heavily armoured MRAP. It is hoped that the MRAP will provide soldiers with the protection they need to survive future battlefields.
Despite the fact that the Humvee is no longer in use on the front lines, it still plays an important role in the global military. It is mainly used to transport men and supplies, but it is also deployed for non-combat missions such as medical evacuations, firefighting and law enforcement.
The Humvee is an incredible military vehicle that has proven itself time and again in battle. It has overcome countless obstacles, and it is no wonder that so many other countries and organizations have adopted this remarkable truck. In fact, the civilian Hummer is based on the same chassis as the military Humvee. The two share many parts, including brakes, axles, body panels and the frame. In fact, they are even assembled on the same assembly line.
The Humvee’s mission
The Humvee is the face of power projection for the Army and Marine Corps. This 4WD vehicle is capable of carrying troops, supplies, equipment, and ammunition, both on and off road. It is designed to serve multiple missions, including reconnaissance, command and control, medical evacuation, and cargo transport.
The first Humvees were developed in the late 1970s to replace the Army’s aging fleet of Jeeps and other light vehicles. The Army was looking for a “jack-of-all-trades” light tactical vehicle that could perform the roles of several different types of trucks. The Humvee has since become a symbol of US military might and is used by a number of other militaries around the world.
In addition to its many practical uses, the Humvee has also become a cultural icon. It has been featured in countless movies and television shows, and is often seen on the streets of major cities. The name “Humvee” has even entered the popular vocabulary, and it is frequently used in place of the word “truck.”
Despite its popularity, the Humvee has now reached a point where it is no longer as effective as it once was. In fact, the Army is currently in the process of replacing the Humvee with a new truck called the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, or JLTV. The JLTV is a lighter and more advanced vehicle that offers better protection against improvised explosive devices. However, the replacement process is taking a long time due to a Byzantine acquisition system and budget constraints.
For the time being, the Marine Corps will continue to use Humvees for their various mission requirements. However, they may eventually begin to look for something lighter and more agile. In the meantime, the Marines will continue to maintain their existing fleet of Humvees at Camp Lejeune.
For anyone interested in learning more about the history of the Humvee, we recommend checking out the HMMWV Museum and Learning Center in Lima, Ohio. The museum is free to the public and features numerous photographs, documents, and artifacts relating to the history of the military vehicle.
The Humvee’s design
The Humvee has seen battle in every corner of the globe. It’s plowed through mud and snow, rolled over boulders and crawled over barbed wire. It’s been towed by helicopter, hauled inside the belly of CH-53s and driven over the seas with Marine Expeditionary Units. It’s been an ambulance, a cargo/troop transport and even a tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided missile carrier. The Humvee’s ubiquity has made it one of the most famous pieces of military equipment ever.
But the Humvee’s ubiquity didn’t come easily. The vehicle was originally designed as AM General’s entry for a competition to design a new High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) that would replace the Army’s fleet of M151 jeeps and myriad other light trucks. The HMMWV was supposed to be a jack-of-all-trades replacement that could be modified for specialized missions.
The original HMMWVs were built with a naturally aspirated 150-hp 6.2-liter V-8 and three-speed automatic. That might not sound like much, but it was a significant improvement over the jeeps that they replaced. The new vehicle was also more spacious, making it possible to add things like machine gun turrets and low-altitude air defense systems. And it had better off-road handling capabilities than the jeeps, with independent front and rear suspension and portal axles that gave drivers 16 inches of ground clearance.
Over the course of more than three decades, the Humvee has evolved with the changing nature of warfare. For example, in the early days of the Iraq War, AM General upgraded the Humvee with armor to protect its occupants from suicide bombers. But bolting on that armor was costly: It increased the vehicle’s weight, which accelerated wear on the engine, transmission and drivetrain. Plus, it reduced the vehicle’s agility, which made it harder to escape an ambush.
Oshkosh is now replacing the Humvee in frontline service with its Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV). The JLTV will be more maneuverable than a heavily up-armored Humvee and offer multiple orders of magnitude more protection from bullets and mines than the jeeps that it’s replacing. But it’s unlikely that the new vehicle will be able to live up to the Humvee’s legacy of durability.
The Humvee’s durability
A Humvee can take a beating and keep on rolling. That’s one of the reasons it’s so popular, especially with military and law enforcement personnel who see a lot of action.
When the Army set out to find a replacement for its 1950s M151 jeeps, the Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle and other smaller trucks in the early ’80s, three companies were invited to build prototypes: AM General, Teledyne Continental and Chrysler (now owned by General Dynamics). AM General won the initial contract with 55,000 examples of what became the HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle).
The Humvee was built as a military vehicle from the beginning. It was designed with all the bells and whistles that would make it a versatile, durable and effective platform for carrying out many different missions and tasks. The basic chassis is convertible into three different configurations: a weapons carrier, a utility vehicle and a field ambulance. There are also a number of accessories that can be attached to the basic vehicle, allowing it to carry additional equipment and perform more specialized tasks.
To ensure the Humvee could handle all the demands of the battlefield, the vehicle was engineered with a full-time four-wheel drive system with a two-speed transfer case, independent suspension and portal axles that allow 16 inches of ground clearance and mighty off-road ability. Its powerful engine (a naturally aspirated 150-hp 6.2-liter diesel V-8 paired with a three-speed automatic transmission) is also up to the task, providing enough power to propel a 13,000-plus-pound Humvee down the highway.
But even with all the bells and whistles, the Humvee isn’t perfect. The vehicle was designed in the ’80s before the proliferation of improvised explosive devices fundamentally changed requirements for ground vehicles. The Marine Corps expects to replace Humvees with a lighter, more agile Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, or JLTV, but those won’t arrive until 2019 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
But that doesn’t mean the Humvee isn’t still useful today. It still carries out the important jobs of hauling troops and supplies, conducting front-line reconnaissance patrols and acting as a mobile command post. Its durability and versatility have earned it a solid reputation around the world.
