Armor: August 31, 2005

Archives

Will the Humvee survive Iraq? The Humvee was considered a major success when it was introduced two decades ago. But in Iraq, the Humvee has been loaded up with armor to protect troops from roadside bombs and ambushers bullets. Thats not what the Humvee was designed for. So far, over 350 American troops have died while riding in Humvees (armored or otherwise). Over 300 Humvees have been destroyed in these attacks. With all the bad press the Humvee is getting, the Department of Defense is under pressure to come up with a replacement. That wont likely happen, despite whatever verbal smokescreen the Department of Defense issues to placate the politicians. The fact of the matter is that no one expects another situation like Iraq. Dont believe it? Check the historical record. For some pretty unique reasons, roadside bombs have been used more extensively in Iraq than in past wars. What the Department of Defense, and especially the army, is most worried about is the expense of getting the armor off over 30,000 Humvees that have served in Iraq. The armor reduces fuel efficiency, and the useful life of the suspension and other components. Its going to cost money to remove it, although some of the more recent armor designs are designed for easy removal, most were not. The army recognizes there may be future conflicts where some armored Humvees will be needed, and for that reason new armor kits are designed to be easily installed, and taken off. 

There are also some new models of the Humvee that have beefier suspensions. The army sees this sort of improvement as the model for how the replacement of the Humvee will evolve, rather than appear as a new design. This is preferred to the enormous expense, hassle, and risk of screwing it up, of coming up with a new vehicle. The troops like the Humvee, as do their bosses. They will like an improved Humvee even more. The most likely improvements include;

@ A new type of engine that will greatly improve fuel economy. Not only is fuel getting more expensive, but its a hassle to move it through a combat zone. So the less fuel that is needed, the better off everyone is.

@ More electricity generating capability. This is not just to support the greater number of electronic devices used by the troops, but also to support the increasing use of Humvees by troops to plug in their battery rechargers. 

@ Lots of little design changes, suggested by the troops, to make the vehicle more useful in combat.

The post-Iraq Humvee will look like the first one that appeared in the 1980s, but internally it will be a lot different, and much more useful.

 

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contribute. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   contribute   Close