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As the most popular tactical vehicle
today, the M998 HUMMWV (dubbed Humvee) is currently used with many
armies. However, only few except for the Israelis and US Army and US
Special Forces are operating protected Humners.
The M998 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV, pronounced "Humvee",
also dubbed "Hummer") is the most commonly
deployed tactical vehicle used by the Armed forces of the USA and
its allies. The original vehicle offers excellent road and
cross-country mobility. It was designed in a variety of
configurations; primarily for utility, logistical and scout
missions. Where active combat role was considered, the Humvee was
selected for its excellent cross country and road, air and
helicopter mobility and load capacity. It was never intended to
perform as armored combat vehicles. Such specification precluded
armor protection, in order to maintain its low empty weight and thus
high mobility standard.
During and after the Kosovo
conflict, the US Army decided to protect a small part of its Humvee
fleet. The armored version would be heavier – resulting in reduced
deployment flexibility. The US Marine Corps, requiring operational
speed for its forces, opted not to protect its Humvees. Thus, in
Iraq, they are currently forced to use some up-armored vehicles
loaned from the US Army. The design of the up-armored M1114 Humvee matured
around a standard protection kit adding about 2,000 pounds weight to
the standard Humvee. The first up-armored version came off the
production line in 1996. In addition to steel plating and
ballistic-resistant windows around the cab of the vehicle offering
improved protection against small arms fire and shrapnel, the steel
 plating underneath is design to survive up to eight pounds of
explosive beneath the engine to four pounds in the cargo area.
Unlike the US army that considering
the vehicle mainly for utility and cross-country transportation, the
Israeli Army planned more tactical roles for the Humvee, which
required higher level of protection. The heavier armor protection
required further automotive and structural modifications stretching
these M-1113 ECV designated vehicles to their limits. However,
during the Lebanon conflict and fighting urban guerilla warfare in
the occupied territories, the up-armored IDF Humvees, demonstrated
their capability to withstand most types of attacks successfully.
 During the security and stability
operations that followed operations Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan)
and Iraqi Freedom (OIF), a limited number of up-armored Hummers were
available in theater, but as of May 2004, most vehicles remain
unprotected. As a result, many Hummers are often falling prey to
repeated attacks that causing heavy casualties to coalition forces.
Soldiers traveling in these soft skinned vehicles become highly
vulnerable to every type of attack, even stone throwing and fire
bombs. Highest lethality attacks are by small-arms fire, grenades,
mines and RPGs.
Among the most dangerous are the IED ambush and
roadside bombs. In autumn 2003, responding to urgent
calls from the field, requesting armor suits for the soft vehicles,
the US Army launched a crash program to protect many of Humvees. The
program proceeded in two parallel directions – accelerated delivery
of highly protected up-armored vehicle, and implementation of
improvised near-term solutions adding some protection levels to the
crews. Makeshift armoring of vehicles, and ad-hoc in-the-field
solutions became temporary measures by the forces in situ.
 On May 2004 the US Senate approved
US$618 million funding for the production of 300 M1114s per month
from May through October, and 450 per month, from October 2004 till
March 2006. $610 million were also allocated for armor kits for
existing tactical vehicles. According to Major General John Sattler,
Director of Operations for CENTCOM, the US Army initial assessments
were that 1,000 up-armored Humvees will be sufficient for patrol,
convoy protection and transportation in Iraq and Afghanistan.
However, as opposition forces in both countries changed their ambush
tactics and IED techniques, the numbers where updated, calling up
for 2,500 more M-1114 up-armored Humvees. Currently, production of 2,000
more vehicles are on contract, and expected to be delivered in
theater by December 2004, with approximately 4,500 up-armored humvees scheduled to be operational in the theater. In addition,
8,000 up-armored kits are on ordered and being installed to protect
windshields and doors for additional vehicles, including trucked and
soft skinned Humvees. In
September 2006
Armor Holdings announced it will provide the US Army M1114 Up-Armored HMMWV
with supplemental armor components to increase the vehicle's IED protection
levels. According to company sources, the contract worth is $183 million. The
armor components will be delivered in 2007.
As of May 2004,
the US Army currently operates several versions of up-armored
Humvees - the production model fitted to new vehicles, field
modified vehicles, up-armored with the
Armor Survivability Kit (ASK)
developed by the US Army to improve the protection for Soldiers
traveling with standard Humvee. Six Army depots are producing ASK,
are scheduled to ship up to 5,000 kits by the end of 2004. In
parallel, production of new up-armored Humvees is accelerated. In
April 2004, a $110 million contract was awarded to O'Gara, (now
called Centigon) for the
supply of up-armored Humvees. By July 2004 the company is planning
to increase production rate to 300 vehicles per month, up from the
current 220. Another contract
worth $30 million was awarded to ArmorWorks, for additional armoring
kits for Humvees. By December 2004 the company delivered 1,000 Humvee Armor
Kits to the US Army. Many of the remaining vehicles are fitted with steel
plates and sandbags, improvised in theater. Battelle has also
developed a lightweight
armor kit for HMMVWs, The kit weighs around 750 pounds, (about a third of
the weight of standard Humvee's armor). By September 2004, 75 initial kits were
delivered to special operations units and 400 more are on order.
The latest addition to the HMMWV is the fragmentation (FRAG) protection kit #5.
The kit provides added protection to the vehicle by replacing the doors and
much of the side armor. The actual kit weighs about 2,200 lbs., but the overall
vehicle weight is only increased by 760 lbs. Current production Humvees are
sent fully armored from the factory. FRAG 5 kits are sent to the field where
install teams remove the existing doors and side armor and replace them with
the new kit.
Future protection enhancements considered for Up-Armored HMMWVs include several
safety improvements, enhancing crew survivability from vehicle accidents and
rollovers. These enhancements range from improved seat belts, gunner's
restraints, vehicle intercom systems and vehicle fire suppression system
designed to mitigate the fire effects of an IED attack.
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