Posted on 08/26/2015 9:25:16 AM PDT by AlmaKing
The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle — the HMMWV, or Humvee — is a stalwart of the battleground. If you asked someone to draw a military truck, they'd almost certainly draw this classic machine, which is almost older than a millennial (1984!) and gained such a pop culture following at one point that civilians started buying them. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in particular, is famous for his undying love of the "Hummer."
But seriously, they're old. The US military has been keen on retiring Humvees for some time, and it has finally awarded the $6.7 billion contract to replace them to Wisconsin-based truck maker Oshkosh, which expects to make about 17,000 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs) over the course of the deal. The JLTVs, which will come in multiple two- and four-seat configurations, aren't just better armored and generally more capable trucks than the ones they're replacing — they also look extraordinarily mean. (I've seen them in person, and I can attest that the meanness is real.)
The big selling point for the JLTV is what Oshkosh calls the "Core1080 Crew Protection System," which includes mine resistance, IED detection, and a lot of bolt-on armor. It's not just about defense, though: optional turret and missile launch units put bite behind the bark. A suspension that can be raised and lowered electronically makes it easier to transport JLTVs to wherever they're needed, but out in the field, it's got 20 inches of wheel travel for insane off-road capability. Oh, and Oshkosh claims it's 70 percent faster than the best tactical wheeled vehicle (TWV) in the market currently.
The Humvee was tame enough to make it to dealerships, but this thing? I'm skeptical we'll ever see a red JLTV cruising down the highway, unless Arnold wants to prove me wrong.
(Excerpt) Read more at theverge.com ...
Oshkosh makes great fire apparatus too, through their Pierce subsidiary.
Kinda reminiscent of the WW II German S-37.
Nice contract!
I worked on this program for BAE Systems from 2010 to 2012.
This truck is a very good thing for soldiers and Marines. It has a V-hull to deflect IED blast, an adjustable suspension that raises or lowers ground clearance, and it can be done from the crew compartment. The armor is the best out there. It’s lighter than an MRAP but has the same protection. This is long overdue.
In no way am I against more effective military transport. I would have never argued about replacing horses with vehicles or Jeeps with HMMWVs. So here we are faced with an expensive change, partly born out of the age of current vehicles and also out of safety of our soldiers and Marines. I contend that the root of the safety problem does not lie in vehicles. It has to do with the political will to utterly destroy our enemies. I am all for armor and protecting our soldiers lives when they are killing the enemy. I just think that some jeeps should be made for military leadership so they may travel through captured territory. That would quickly expose whether the job of killing the enemy was complete.
The article didn’t say how many cup holders it had, or what type of sound system is included. Optional extras, I guess.
I’ll take two, please.
Bingo! It is a shame that Ralph Nader & Disciples and their Swing Axle boogie-man killed the M-151.
What does this new Joint "Light" Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) weigh? From the apparent external dimensions, it will have sling loaded rather than fit inside any transport helo or Osprey.
The old M-151 was light, cheap to buy, cheap to run, two would easily fit inside a CH-53 and with a trailer you could haul gear.
No, it was not armored. It was a LIGHT tactical vehicle, not a TANK! IEDs get bigger and more deadly a lot quicker and cheaper than "Up-Armor" is developed and deployed. Change your tactics!
Most of all change your Rules of Engagement. Send out convoys of M-151s escorted by ONTOS loaded & licensed to fire!
If we ever get in a fight that is not in an open desert, we might find ourselves immobile until engineers can cut down the forest. Maybe we need to insist we only go to war in places with open terrain...
They could call it, I dunno, maybe Jeep?
I know I need one of those!
Two big saw blades could pop out in front when the vehicle encounters forest, just like on Speed Racer’s car.
Sweet!
The next conflict is likely to be either in the jungles of Sub-Saharan Africa, the forests of Russia, or the narrow farm-roads of China. Cool as this truck is (oh yeah, I want one for sure), its size will prove a liability in the long run.
But then, most militaries make the mistake of fighting the previous conflict, so this is not unexpected.
It all boils down to what the Army needs in its particular situation. In WWII it wanted a *lot* of cheap and cheerful, that could cross bad terrain and was easy to fix and maintain with minimal education. A high casualty assumption, the Jeep had to be expendable.
By the time the Humvee came around, what they wanted was a universal light vehicle that could be configured in a dozen or more different ways based on need. The Jeep had a problem of having a dangerously high center of gravity, so it needed to be difficult to flip. And they wanted tires far more difficult to disable, so they filled them with goop instead of air.
However, this meant they were a LOT more expensive, far more difficult to maintain and repair, and had a lot more eccentricities.
You might want to see what’s up!
It will weigh 30 tons in a couple of years
“It is a shame that Ralph Nader & Disciples and their Swing Axle boogie-man killed the M-151.”
I just love that little jeep, have driven them many miles over obstacles a solid axle 4x4 would never do.
Regarding your statement, I often thougt the M151 could have been redone with a trailing arm suspension which is just as independent as the M151. We have ATV’s (CanAm) with the trailing arm, and all four wheels suspension are independent of the other.
Regarding nostalgia, I also have a few hours behind the wheel of the 1950’s gasoline engine auto trans deuce and a half made by GMC I think was the M135
JC Whitney, et al, sold them for $150 or less for swing axle Mercedes, older Corvairs, VWs, etc. These cured the "rollover problem".
BTW, one night in 1968 I drove a buddy from the 1st MarDiv CP area in Da Nang out to Red Beach. We had two other Marines riding shotgun and were "flying low". No problems at all with swing axles!
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