HMMWV (High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle) / (Humvee)

History

Aside from the M1 Abrams, perhaps no other American armored vehicle represents the U.S. Army more than the venerable Hummer line of quads. Since its introduction, the Humvee has become an integral part of global and domestic military operations.

The type's clean look, wide stance and useful features make them beloved by the once dubious military community and the general public ready for the next off-road capability. Today's Humvees represent the pinnacle of wartime Jeep development, descending indirectly from the small 50-60 horsepower machines that were once the standard transportation for our working grandfathers.

In February 1981, the U.S. Army mandated that new four-wheel drive tactical light vehicles be designated as High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs) and delivered by helicopter to any location on the battlefield.

The Army had great success with its WWII-era line of small Jeeps, but the vehicle is still a design that goes back a long way. Additionally, it has attempted to militarize civilian trucks to perform the same role, but these modifications leave a lot to be desired.

Therefore, the HMMWV specification calls for a common solution to Army needs, which will also attract interest from the US Air Force and US Marine Corps. Multi-roll products with common components and easy conversion to other rolls are now the motto of the time. The U.S.

Army is demandingperhaps a bit too ambitiousbut the need is urgent.

While the weapon upgrade kit (capable of repelling projectiles up to 7.62mm) was available to Humvee operators after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the field upgrade brought a versatile weapon-carrying Humvee with its top The open gun protruding ring mount protects the archer's sides and back by adding armor. Official gun mounts on the side doors also later became optional to deter attacks on coalition convoys.

The "highly armored" Humvee The M1114 has since become Iraq's standard Humvee. Using the base vehicle provided by AM General, O'Gara-Hess & Eisenhardt were asked to build armor protection.

While these systems improved aircrew survivability, the improved tactics employed by Iraqi guerrilla fighters and their improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were difficult to match. Still, the M1114 proved to be an upgrade over the base Hummer, and there have been plenty of exploding Hummers and their living stories of survival (and continue to do so).

Similar to Afghanistan, the Hummer has proven to be an excellent ATV. With experience gained on both fronts in South Asia, the Humvee has proven time and time again its importance to U.S. forces in the region.

Afghan Humvees are well represented, including the heavily armored M1114 series and a "light" version for rapid reaction forces.

As the HMMWV's influence on the battlefield continued to expand, the vehicle was soon introduced in civilian form to welcome audiences who already respected the machines and the positive media coverage of previous campaigns. The civilian version was called the "Hummer" and first appeared on the Hummer H1 in 1992. Some of these H1s were procured through the U.S. Army for use as VIP transport aircraft.

General Motors produced the commercial Hummer H2 in 2003, followed by the Hummer H3 in 2006. While the H1 proved more consistent with its military offerings (including its boxy, functional appearance), GM's offerings were downright "civilian" ones.

The "friendly" system has little in common with official AM General products. While maintaining a level of off-road performance, the H2 and H3 are a far cry from the naked military HMMWV and "upscale" H1.

Some 180,000 HMMWVs were eventually produced by the end of 2005, with full-rate production starting in 1985. Although the name HMMWV is used throughout U.S. military nomenclature, it is colloquially named "Hummer".

Since this name is reserved for military HMMWV systems, the applicable naming convention for civilian HMMWVs is "Hummer", as in "Hummer H1".

HMMWV production takes place at AM General's assembly plant in South Bend, Indiana. Each machine is thoroughly operated and tested to ensure in many ways a robust and superior product that forms an important logistical backbone of the U.S. military. The U.S.

Border Patrol also uses about 100 Humvee H1s in its various U.S.-Mexico border deployments.

Although the Hummer family was developed in the early 1980s and is nearly 30 years old, it remains a viable workhorse for many nations, primarily the United States of America and all its combat branches. From the beginning, it had a revolutionary design and was recommended to AM General. She quickly earned the respect of those who carelessly operate the vehicle, and continues to this day, pushing the design to its limits and then some.

The HMMWV will remain a permanent fixture of the U.S. military for some time to come.

In August 2015, it was announced that the Oshkosh Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) had won the race to replace the famous HUMVEE product line. The design beat competitors from Lockheed and AM General. The initial order is for 17,000 vehicles, with a total purchase contract value of $6. $7 billion. Production is scheduled to begin in 2016, with operational capability for U.S.

Army units in 2018.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

Specific tasks. May contain:

1 x 40mm Mk 19 Mod 3 Automatic Grenade Launcher.

1 x 12.7mm Browning M2HB heavy machine gun.

1 x 7.62mm M60 General Purpose Machine Gun.

1 x 7.62mm M240 General Purpose Machine Gun.

1 x TOW-2B Anti-Tank Missile Launcher.

8 x Stinger Short-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (Avengers).

6 x AIM-120 medium-range air-to-air missiles. (SLAMRAAM/HUMRAAM).

Smoke Generator M56.

Changes