There are no definite plans, yet. But the Army and the Marines are slowly getting ready to replace the Humvee. National Defense magazine profiles the “truck manufacturers large and small, foreign and domestic, [which] are gearing up to take on the only maker of the 20-year-old vehicle, AM General.“
Archie Massicotte, president of military and government business at International Truck and Engine said, the Humvee has served a great life for the military for 20 some years. I think what theyre finding is that were fighting battles now in Iraq, and theyre using it as a tactical wheeled vehicle. And it was never intended to be a tactical wheeled vehicle, he said…
The question of armorhow much is needed, when to use it and the trade-offs in engine power, weight and carrying capacity it entailswill be a technological challenge for any proposed follow-on vehicle, experts said…
[Jim] Mills, who worked on the Humvee program while in the Army… said there will also be a need for windshields that can better accommodate night-vision technology. Lead content in the glass can reduce its effectiveness. Soldiers want to be able to drive at night with headlights turned off. And in special operations when stealth is necessary, its mandatory to go in with night-vision technology. Longer-range infrared headlights, which would allow drivers to go 45 to 60 miles per hour, will be needed for any follow-on vehicle used in such operations, he said.
Other improvements Mills recommended include a spare tire, air conditioning and electronic stability control. The latter is necessary to prevent rollovers, another leading cause of death and injury in Iraq. Soldiers want to push the Humvee faster to avoid insurgent attacks. Such a system could prevent drivers from having accidents, Mills said, noting that the driver is often the youngest and most inexperienced of the three-soldier crews…
A spare tire, sturdier armor and the perpetual demand for increased cargo space all lead to one thing: a larger, heavier vehicle, Mills said. The term light tactical vehicle is becoming a misnomer, he added.
A soldier in the military will always find more things to carry inside a vehicle, Mills said. The next question is how much bigger will the new truck be?
One vehicle not mentioned explicitly in the story — but getting a ton of props from marines in the field — is this Cougar mine-protected vehicle. This Georgia Tech prototype is turning heads, too.
Next week, the National Automotive Test Center will hold its annual “rodeo” for tactical vehicles. It follows a big conference on the subject, featuring the major players from the Army and Marines. I assume those two potential Humvee replacements will be there, ready to ride.
UPDATE 10:10 AM: As Inside Defense notes, the Army and Marines are going to start pursuing next-gen light tactical vehicles together, after years of separate research.
Our military’s failure for the last four years to buy South African armored vehicle technology, which was designed for counterinsurgency and thus to protect against mines, borders on criminal. They keep hanging more stuff on the poor old HMWWV and meanwhile our soldiers and Marines keep getting killed and maimed while THE TECHNOLOGY IS AVAILABLE.
Of course, the whole vehicle issue is in a way a phoney one; the real problem is that our military still doesn’t understand counterinsurgency and the necessity of using clear and hold to gain control of the population living along the roads.
Looks like International has learned another lesson from the HummV … Consumers Want Em!
They intro’d the civilian MXT at the chicago auto show (and nearly drove it off the stage.)
http://www.autoblog.com/2006/02/09/chicago-auto-show-international-nearly-drops-its-new-mxt/
Doesnt say if we can get the IR Headlights.
What I think we’re forgetting is that procurement isn’t that simple. We can’t just buy all the vehicles we need overnight…even if one manufacturer could meet our demand, we’d need millions of spares, crew operation and maintenance training (and the associated equipment, some of which might be new), the list goes on. The necessity of such a move is widely recognized. The feasibility of changing horses mid-stream less so.
Funny you should say that,
cause the US are buying thrm as fast as the south African suppliers can make’em, there production is somewhat slowed however do to upgrades made to make them more modern and leathal.
How do I know this, cause I saw em with my own two eyes, talked to those that drove them, and even rode in one.
Sorry no evidence on CNN or any other news org, they only cover the part of the war that gets the raitings