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Home Front: Tech
Will the Humvee Survive Iraq?
2005-08-31
August 31, 2005: 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. That’s 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 won’t 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. Don’t 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. It’s 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 it’s 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.
    Posted by:Steve

    #8  Seen a couple of Discovery chanel docus concerning this.It will be a few years yet but high-bred diseal electrics are where they are headed.
    Posted by: raptor   2005-08-31 18:58  

    #7  Could you spend a lot of money replacing the HMMV with a light APC of some kind (which the author seems to be suggesting without really realizing it)? Possibly, if you were willing to spend more money for something that hauled less people (and tore the roads up as well).

    Would this armored light vehicle (and its crew) still be vulnerable to IED's in spite off all the extra spending? Probably so. Real tanks and APC's are still vulnerable anyway...
    Posted by: Abdominal_Snowman   2005-08-31 18:33  

    #6   Will the Humvee Survive Iraq?

    Without a doubt. Civilians love them.
    Posted by: Red Dog   2005-08-31 16:11  

    #5  Was the HummVee originally designed has an assault vehicle or ordinary transportation - something like an upscale jeep? BTW how come our tractor trailers aren't heavily armoured? And psst, water carriers are thin skinned, let's pin the blame on someone and make hay.
    Posted by: Shipman   2005-08-31 16:03  

    #4  Only idiots can imagine a war without IEDS. Humvee are a liability. There are already many veichles in the market better against IEDs. But the corrupted, slow, beaurocratic Pentagon procurement system probably will save the Humvee.
    Posted by: Hupomoque Spoluter7949   2005-08-31 14:55  

    #3  As to the fuel economy of the vehicle. As HYbrids get more widespread and integrated into the civilian market up to and including the truck market these systems will find their way into the military. In most instances just how much horsepower does a Humvee need. Not the BHP the current engine produces which I believe is based on the 6.9L GM deisel v-8. A switch over to a basic electric drive with the deisel running a DC or AC generator that can supply the drive motor with extra power at high speeds might be useful. Such an engine would then be able to be a smaller displacement 4 cylinder. On advantage of such a drive system in built up areas is the electric drive would be quieter. Armoring a new generation of Humvee's is valuable up to a certain point. In the war between warhead and armor in the end the warhead or weapons system always wins. At what point does the total cost of the armor package become self defeating. And at what point does a more capable vehicle such as a wheeled AFV make more sense. But the basic Humvee concept will be with us for quite awhile yet. The versitility of the basic chassis has shown itself to be one of the strong points.
    Posted by: Cheaderhead   2005-08-31 13:05  

    #2  I think if the vulnerability of the vehicle has been illustrated to our enemies, then they will exploit it in future conflicts. The vehicle's flat bottom is a serious weakness and is one that a true replacement vehicle will address. Mines or IED's are not going to go away.
    Posted by: remoteman   2005-08-31 12:31  

    #1  I wouldn't believe that the armor would be removed--it has proven to be too useful. The alternative would be to modify the design to use lighter production armor as an integrated add-on.

    That is, the entire philosophy of the Humvee has been the numerous configurations the vehicle can be modified to--a very versitile vehicle indeed. So with a minor modification, female bolt holes could be integrated into its frame for attaching standardized armor plate, and quickly. The armor itself would not be steel, but light plastics as is used in body armor.

    The armor itself could be of several interchangeable types, depending on need. Undercarriage armor, side armor, front armor like a convex bulldozer blade, wide side panels to be used by escort infantry at low speed, even roof armor for use in urban areas. The armor could be somewhat aerodynamic, for high speed, or it could be distanced from the vehicle.

    Armor technology is improving so much that it will soon make a reappearance on the battlefield. Things such as individual infantryman shields, from a rifle face shield to riot-shield size, have innumerable value in an urban combat situation.
    Posted by: Anonymoose   2005-08-31 10:30  

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