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September 9, 2003
One vehicle in big demand in Iraq is the M1114 version of the HMMWV (hummer). This version has about a ton of Kevlar armor added to it, including underneath. This gives protection from 7.62mm machine-gun bullets, fragments from artillery and mortar shells, and mines (containing up to 12 pounds of explosives.) The M1114 was developed as a result of the fierce fighting in Mogadishu in 1993. The army currently has about 1700 of them. Many National Guard military police units went to Iraq without M1114s, because these units have not yet been issued M1114s. Complaints from families of the MPs in Iraq has spurred the army to take several hundred M1114s from units, or depots, in the US and ship them over to Iraq. The M1114s weigh the same as other hummers, but their cargo capacity of nearly two tons is cut in half to account for the armor. In addition, there is a firing position out the top of the vehicle that can mount a .50 or 7.62mm caliber machine-gun, or a 40mm automatic grenade launcher. The M1114 is most popular with reconnaissance troops, as it is smaller, faster and quieter than the M-3 (a recon version of the M-2 Bradley armored vehicle) and provides almost as much protection. Plus, the M1114 has an excellent air conditioning system. Over 100,000 hummers have been produced in over a dozen different configurations. The basic body and mechanical features remain the same, but max weight varies from 3.9-4.5 tons. Max payload varies from 1.2-2.2 tons.
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