September 13, 2006: The army is planning for life after Iraq by replacing the armored hummer (the M1114) with a new model (the M1151), that has removable armor. The M1151 will also have some armor underneath, but will otherwise look exactly like the M1114. The armor in the M1114 is added at the end of the production process, and requires special skills and tools to remove. Currently, the U.S. Army has over 12,000 M1114s, and is still turning out over 600 a month. The M1151 will start replacing the M1114 next year.

The M1114 has been around since the 1990s. Originally designed for peacekeeping operations, it was meant for dangerous places like the Balkans. In 1998, only about 200 M1114s a year were being produced. The M1114 was based on a earlier armored hummer, that had served in the 1991 campaign in Kuwait. The M1114 is basically an armored car, with a crew of four and a payload of one ton (plus two tons that can be towed.) A 190 horsepower engine gives it a top speed of 80 kilometers an hour and a max range (on one tank, on roads) of 480 kilometers. All the armored protection (against 7.62mm machine-guns and rifles, bombs, landmines and nearby bursting shells of up to 155mm) has more than doubled the cost of the M1114 ($165,000 compared to $65,000 for an unarmored model.)

The problem with putting two tons of armor on a hummer is that is causes more wear and tear to the vehicle, and they burn more fuel as well. This is especially true for a vehicle that is used day after day, in hot and dusty conditions. The extra weight is also in places that the vehicle designers did not plan on having additional weight. So the vehicles ride differently when armored. Drivers have to get used to it. The army would like to get rid of the armored hummers, and is working a new vehicle design to replace the hummer. That vehicle will probably be designed to readily accept an armor kit, that the troops can install and remove as needed.