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This article refers to the Military HMMWV, not the civilian Hummer sold by General Motors The M998 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV or Humvee) is a military motor vehicle. It has largely supplanted the role formerly served by the Jeep, Gama Goat, and other light trucks with the United States military, and is also used by a number of other countries and organizations.
Features There are at least 17 variants of the HMMWV in service with the United States armed forces. HMMWV serve as cargo/troop carriers, automatic weapons platforms, ambulances (four litter patients or eight ambulatory patients), M220 TOW missile carriers, M119 howitzer prime movers, M-1097 Avenger Pedestal Mounted Stinger platforms, MRQ-12 direct air support vehicles, S250 shelter carriers among many others. It is capable of 2.5 ft (76 cm) normally, or 5 ft (1.5 m) with the deep-water fording kit installed. Optional equipment includes a winch (maximum load capacity 6000 lb. (2700 kg)), and supplemental armor. The M1025 and M1043/M1044 armament carriers provide mounting and firing capabilities for the MK19 grenade launcher, the M2 heavy machine gun, the M240G/B machine gun and M249 SAW. The newly introduced M1114 "up-armored" HMMWV also features a similar weapons mount. In addition, some M1114 and M1116 up-armored and M1117 Armored Security Vehicle models feature a CROWS (common remotely operated weapon station), which allows the gunner to operate from inside the vehicle. History
Usage in Iraq and political implications The HMMWV has proven very vulnerable to light infantry weapons as far back as the Somalia intervention; in its defense, it was never designed to offer such protection. With the rise of asymmetric warfare and low-intensity conflicts, the HMMWV has found itself thrust into urban combat roles it was not originally intended for. Although the large variety of HMMWV types is a testament to the vehicle's adaptability to changing mission conditions, it was never designed to be an armored personnel carrier (APC). Although there are several armor kits available for the vehicle which afford it greater protection from small-arms fire, these were not provided in great numbers to American forces in Iraq prior to the invasion. As a result of this, American soldiers and Marines often improvise extra armor layers with scrap materials (also known as "hillbilly armor") to improve the safety of the HMMWV. While "hardening" or "up-armoring" their vehicles with sandbags, metal, and plywood does make the vehicles arguably safer, it also slows them down. It has also been argued that hardening simply creates more shrapnel when attacked with an RPG or improvised explosive device. This extra hardening further hampered the ability of the M998 and M1025 due to the addition of excess weight which overloaded the suspension and drivetrain components of these HMMWVs. Performance issues due to the high center of gravity and extra weight of up-armoring kits increase the risk of sway and rollover. Unlike similar-size civilian cargo and tow trucks, which typically have dual rear wheels to reduce sway, the HMMWV has single rear wheels. The independent rear suspension coupled with the body design may preclude "dually" configuration which is the standard for solid-axle trucks of that weight range. In response to the vulnerability of HMMWVs operating in Iraq, the U.S. Department of Defense contracted AM General to make the M1114 Uparmored HMMWV. The M1114 has been in limited production since 1996 and had seen limited use in the Balkans before deployment to the Middle East. This design has a larger, more powerful engine with a turbocharger, air conditioning and a strengthened suspension and boasts a fully armored passenger area protected by hardened steel and bullet-proof glass. With the increase in direct attacks and guerilla warfare in Iraq AM General has diverted the majority of its manufacturing power to producing these vehicles. In December 2004, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld came under criticism from U.S. soldiers and their families for not providing better equipped HMMWV *. Rumsfeld pointed out that, prior to the war, armor kits were produced only in small numbers per year. As the role of American forces in Iraq changed from fighting the Iraqi Army to suppressing the guerrilla insurgency, armor kits were being manufactured as fast as additional production facilities could be brought online. Armor aggravates the severe inherent performance limitations of a light truck with independent suspension, but it does offer improved protection. Other countries experienced in urban war such as Russia and Israel rely on armored personnel carriers, but the wheeled HMMWV fits current anti-track sentiment among Army senior leadership as exemplified by the Stryker and other wheeled systems. Weaknesses As an unarmoured vehicle it is vulnerable to just about any weapon capable of hitting it. RPGs can penetrate and thus completely annihilate an HMMWV. AKM-fire will penetrate any model without the up-armor conversion kit, and is capable of wounding passengers. Besides fire from infantry, it is also vulnerable to roadside bombs (IEDs and land mines). The armor on most up-armored humvees holds up well against lateral attacks, when the blast is distributed in all different directions, but offers little protection from a blast below the truck. Also the soldier crewing the weapon on top of the vehicle is extremely vunerable to enemy fire. However, the US millitary is currently testing a new form of protection, developed by BAE, for the crew served weapon seat on HMMWV in Iraq. The new gunner's seat is protected by 1.5' to 2' (45.72 - 60.96 cm) high steel plates with bullet-proof glass windows. Also, some HMMWV are currently using CROWS, which slaves the machine gun to controls in the back seat to allow remote operation. Replacement The US government is seeking a replacement for the AM General truck, and the U.S. Army's Tank and Automotive Command is currently refereeing a prototype competition. Navistar International and Lockheed Martin are participating, while AM General has not been selected. The Navistar entry is based on their International CXT line, and this truck has already been prototyped to replace the HMMWV for non-military use by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, and Border Patrol. The Marine Corps is also looking into replacements for the HMMWV. The Office of Naval Research is funding Georgia Tech's ULTRA AP, a combat concept vehicle based on the F350 chassis, but with a "blast bucket" passenger compartment, and Ultra 3T, a project with more advanced (but unproven) technologies. Versions A partial listing of U.S. versions: Humvee replicas Due to the popularity of the Humvee, there have been kits produced for building a humvee-replica yourself. The kits do not allow you to build a humvee from scratch (kitcar), they do allow you to rebuild a sedan to a humvee-lookalike, alternatively one can also just buy a preconstructed (or turnkey) wombat. Various kits probably exist, but the most famous is the "Wombat" (-or previous HummBug). The former vehicle can be purchased for $18,000.00, considerably cheaper than the actual Humvee ($56,400.00), or Hummer. Users The HMMWV is not only used by the US military but many other countries as well: Popular culture The Humvee has appeared in almost every military-themed film and video game since 1989 and has become as much of an icon for the modern U.S. military as the Jeep was for U.S. forces in World War II. See also | ||||||||||
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