The Humvee has conquered mud, sand, rocks and snow. It has hauled cargo and troops, pulled trailers down highways and evaded detection in the desert.
The Army’s HMMWV – more commonly known as the Humvee – has been an icon of American military power projection for two decades. But the vehicle’s drawbacks – especially in the urban combat US forces experienced in Somalia and in Iraq – began to show. Click the Street Legal Humvee For Sale to learn more.
When you hear the term Humvee, you might think of military vehicles. The military often uses these rugged and powerful vehicles for transporting troops, but they have also become popular in other civilian uses. They are favored by off-road enthusiasts and even some emergency services.
The history of the Humvee began in the late 1970s when the US Army decided to replace its aging fleet of M151 Jeeps and M561 Gama Goat light tactical vehicles with a single jack-of-all-trades vehicle that could perform the roles of several existing models. AM General, Chrysler Defense and Teledyne Continental submitted prototypes, and the Army eventually chose the AM General version for production. It was known as the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or HMMWV, but service members simply nicknamed it the Humvee.
During the 1989 invasion of Panama and the Gulf War in the early 1990s, the Humvee was heavily utilized. Its versatility in the desert terrain helped it gain popularity with both the American public and soldiers. The Humvee has since been deployed in the Middle East, Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world. Its use in guerrilla-dominated environments has revealed some of its weaknesses, however, including its vulnerability to IEDs and other mines. The Pentagon hastily up-armored some Humvees, and the Army is now replacing frontline units with the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.
In addition to its utility and durability, the Humvee is also known for its offroad capabilities and mod-ability. It can go places that most vehicles cannot, and it has a high ground clearance. In fact, it can even ford water with the right equipment. For these reasons, the Humvee has become a popular vehicle for offroad enthusiasts and other civilians.
But there are some who argue that the Humvee has gone too far and should be relegated to military uses only. Its popularity with the civilian public has also raised concerns about safety. One tragic example occurred when a training exercise at a Marine base in Twentynine Palms turned deadly when a Humvee rolled over and crushed a Marine to death.
The first Humvees were unarmored
When the military first put Humvees into service, they had zero protection built in for troops riding inside them. The US military quickly realized that it needed to change that, but armoring the Humvee was not an easy task.
The Humvee was designed in the 1980s before improvised explosive devices (IEDs) had fundamentally changed the demands on ground vehicles. It was designed to be a jack-of-all-trades, capable of carrying cargo and personnel while armed with a mix of weapons that ranged from machine guns to the deadly TOW antitank missile.
Early models of the Humvee had a payload capacity that left little room for the heavy armor necessary to protect its crews. To address this issue, the military began bolting on add-on armor kits to many of its Humvees. While this increased the vehicle’s protection, it also made them slower, clumsier and more likely to rollover, making them less effective in combat and increasing maintenance costs.
In the first four months of 2006 – when the Iraqi insurgency was at its height – 67 US soldiers travelling in Humvee vehicles were killed by IEDs. Bolting on extra armor made the already-clumsy Humvee even harder to maneuver, and its massive weight accelerated wear and tear on engine, transmission, drivetrain and chassis components. It was not a solution that would last, and it would take longer than expected for the Army to realize it had to find a better way to protect its troops.
Once the need became obvious, the Army hastily up-armored some of its existing Humvees and ordered thousands of new ones with armor built in. But the vehicles were still prone to catching fire and exploding due to poorly placed explosives, and were vulnerable to more powerful bomb attacks that could flip the vehicles into the air and snap soldiers’ spines and necks.
The Marine Corps and Special Operations Command were able to sell off hundreds of Humvees without replacing them by using a special law that allows federal agencies to use money from sales of old equipment to buy new “similar items.” This process, which is not supposed to be used for surplus equipment, has been criticized for being an attempt to avoid spending on replacement vehicles.
The Humvee’s armor
After the first Gulf War, the military realized that its jack-of-all-trades workhorses were not particularly well-protected. Insurgents were able to easily pierce the soft-skinned Humvees with small arms fire and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). As such, it became obvious that the Humvee needed more armor.
The military ordered thousands of armour kits that would be installed on existing Humvees. While these added more protection, they were not effective enough. In the first four months of 2006 – when the Iraqi insurgency was at its peak – nearly 70 troops traveling in Humvees were killed by IED attacks alone.
So, the military began to develop more advanced protection systems for the Humvees. Several models were developed, including the Overhead Cover (OHC), which was designed to protect the vehicle’s occupants from roadside bombs and enemy gunfire. The OHC was tested in Iraq, where it proved to be a valuable addition to the Humvee fleet.
While the OHC has proven to be an excellent protective system, it adds considerable weight to the vehicle, making them less maneuverable. This is especially true when compared to the lighter-weight MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicles, which were developed to replace the Humvee in frontline military service.
Despite the added weight, the latest Humvee models offer considerable protection from high-volume offensive fire and some air-burst artillery. This is made possible by the use of thick steel armour and energy-absorbing coatings and mountings. However, it is important to remember that the Humvee can still be beaten by APCs and other fast-moving vehicles that can keep up with the Humvee’s speed.
On factory floors stretching the length of football fields, workers shape three-eighth inch thick armor steel into the Humvee’s bulletproof windows. Marty Bollman is one of those workers who is very thankful to have a job after 24 years in the steel industry.
HMMWVs are also used in a variety of other roles, from transporting supplies and equipment to providing security for special operations forces. The vehicle has even been used to support airstrikes and to carry equipment such as turrets and tube-launched TOW anti-tank missiles.
The Humvee’s future
The Humvee has been a military icon for more than two decades. But it hasn’t been a smooth ride. The truck was a smash hit in the desert and plowed through miles of open terrain with ease, but it was never designed to navigate paved streets. And when the military began facing IED attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan, it realized the Humvee was woefully ill-equipped for such asymmetric warfare. That’s why the Pentagon started replacing the Humvee with the JLTV, or Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.
The JLTV is lighter than the old Humvee, and it’s better equipped for combat. It has a V-shaped, mine-resistant hull, longer suspension travel, and locking differentials. And it’s powered by a 400-horsepower diesel engine that leaves the old Humvee engines in the dust. But it’s also more expensive to purchase, maintain, and operate. The Army is spending $1.5 billion to modernize the JLTV fleet over its lifespan. And that includes a wide variety of modifications, from replacing major components to adding new technologies.
Despite these problems, the JLTV appears to be here to stay. In fact, the Army is planning to buy a total of 100,000 JLTVs over its life span. That means the Humvee may have another few decades of service ahead of it.
But the Humvee’s legacy isn’t just in the military. It’s also influenced a whole generation of civilian off-roaders. And it’s still popular with enthusiasts today. There are countless companies that make accessories for the Humvee, from lights and wheels to armor and other upgrades. And there are even companies that produce custom vehicles for special operations.
But for now, the military’s workhorse is in good hands. The company that makes the Humvee, AM General, has recently announced that it’s been bought by KPS Capital Partners. And the company is working on a new version of the vehicle that’s more capable in high-tech conflicts. For example, the company’s latest project uses a headset to give drivers a 360-degree view of their surroundings and help them navigate obstacles. The idea is that the technology will eventually eliminate the need for windows in tactical vehicles.