New Wheels for the US Military: HUMVEE spy shots

[Joey D]

Spy Shots: AM General Humvee prototype caught!

Source: Autoblog

Though normally hiding in bushes and waiting for the next-gen Mustang or Corvette Blue Devil to pass by, Brenda Priddy and pals sometimes spy things not meant for public consumption. They recently photographed a new AM General HUMVEE prototype that will be competing for the military's Future Tactical Truck System (FTTS) contract, which will produce the replacement for the current Humvee, of which some 140,000 are still in active service. Though prototypes from Lockheed Martin and other military contractors will also be submitted, this is AM General's bid to keep the Humvee in the game.

Follow the jump for more details and Priddy's own analysis of the vehicle that's aided by her consult with some military experts, and check out the high-res pics in our gallery below.

Larger Images: Click Here

 

[JCE]

Hideous. The H1 is still a better looking machine.

 

[Joey D]

I think it's probably just a test mule, I don't think it will look like that when they are finished. I'm glad they are making a new one though, the current HUMVEE's are becoming outdated.

 

[YSSMAN]

The big issue with the HUMVEE as it stands now is that they are too heavy for the equipment they have to carry, and thusly, they are becoming dangerous. Adding so much anti-bomb material to the vehicle is overburdening it by hundreds, if not thousands of pounds, which quite frankly, isn't something I'd want to be doing in the middle of a war.

There was a large push a year or so ago for the Millitary to use civilian-based vehicles to replace the HUMVEE, so basically the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan would be using a GMT900 3500 or an F-350 SD, which IMO, wasn't a good idea.

IMO, they need to go for the highest amount of strength (read, bomb-proof) while opting for the lowest possible weight, and thusly the greatest fuel efficiency.

In a world of Haliburton and ExxonMobile, that may or may not happen. But with Lockheed and AM General duking it out, it should be an interesting battle. Throw GM or Ford in there, and things could get messy...

 

[opelgt1969]

The big issue with the HUMVEE as it stands now is that they are too heavy for the equipment they have to carry, and thusly, they are becoming dangerous. Adding so much anti-bomb material to the vehicle is overburdening it by hundreds, if not thousands of pounds, which quite frankly, isn't something I'd want to be doing in the middle of a war.

There was a large push a year or so ago for the Millitary to use civilian-based vehicles to replace the HUMVEE, so basically the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan would be using a GMT900 3500 or an F-350 SD, which IMO, wasn't a good idea.

IMO, they need to go for the highest amount of strength (read, bomb-proof) while opting for the lowest possible weight, and thusly the greatest fuel efficiency.

In a world of Haliburton and ExxonMobile, that may or may not happen. But with Lockheed and AM General duking it out, it should be an interesting battle. Throw GM or Ford in there, and things could get messy...

Best solution is to leave the middle east like we were told to do after freeing Kuwait.

 

[Joey D]

This isn't a who thinks we should be in Iraq thread. If it turns into one it's getting locked.

 

[YSSMAN]

We could do that, but it won't happen any time soon...

What is interesting about the project, however, is the differences between the way we are going about replacing the HUMVEE while over in the UK they keep stumbling over how it should be done, choosing Panther (unofficially?) made by the Italians over a revamped Land Rover.

Pitty it is, as one would think national pride would push one to use the products designed and built in one's country...

 

[Tornado]

Pitty it is, as one would think national pride would push one to use the products designed and built in one's country...

Yeah. Amazing how that works, isn't it? Completely explains why we are using the Hummer in the first place.[/soapbox]

IMO, they need to go for the highest amount of strength (read, bomb-proof) while opting for the lowest possible weight, and thusly the greatest fuel efficiency.

Grr, baby.

I'm glad they are making a new one though, the current HUMVEE's are becoming outdated.

Becoming? The H1 was outdated as soon as it was evident that they wouldn't be used to invade the Soviet Union.[/soapbox]


The main problem with this apparent prototype is that it doesn't solve the Humvee's main problems, namely that it is a huge, heavy, expensive and ungainly vehicle that is often outmaneuvered by Toyota Tacoma's.

 

[Philly]

Hopefully they put it to the street. That should reassure America that there are hummers worth having.

 

[Joey D]

Jeeps haven't been real off road vehicles for years, the new ones are "trail rated" but everyone I've ever seen take a new one off road has completely owned the thing. When Daimler took over they screwed all of Chrysler up, I don't think Jeep will ever recover...I mean look at the new Liberty .

 

[YSSMAN]

Grr, baby.

I said bomb-proof, not M80-proof...

But I do understand your point. That being said, a Ford F250 Super Duty would likely fare quite well with the right level of modification. That being said, they could always use the GMC TopKick. They transform into robots, you know...

Hooray!

 

[JCE]

Introducing the Ford F650 "pickup" truck.

Actually, in all seriousness the next military tough truck should be based off of this:

Unlike the GM and Dodge heavy/super duty trucks the Ford has a boxed frame and not a "C" frame.

 

[Muzaffar]

Forget about American trucks,get a LM002 and it will smoke all the other trucks to dust with its V12 engine.We are talking about performance right or am i straying from the topic?

 

[YSSMAN]

We're discussing performance, reliability, capability, and furthermore, overall strength when it comes to picking a new replacement for the HUMVEE. The first problem with the Lambo would be the fact that its made in Italy, and given that most military contracts in the United States are given to American companies, that automatically throws it out. Secondly, the V12 in use isn't dependable, much less strong enough to run for days at a time, with some shred of "economy" built in. Plus, we like diesels here when it comes to the military, so thats really two strikes in one. Finally, if I'm not mistaken, the Lambo was made out of "lightweight" materials, making it highly vulnerable to small arms fire, not to mention the various IED and RPG threats our vehicles face every day.

The Ford F250 would probably be about as good as it gets for a civilian-based vehicle, probably being one of the cheapest and easiest to work on options they could use...

...That being said, overall strength is questionable when it comes to the duties that a HUMVEE normally would do, and overall, I'd assume the overall off-road prowess (by which the HUMVEE is known for) would be suspect as well, because after all, its just an HD pickup with a diesel... Its meant for towing, not climbing sand dunes.

There was talk not too long ago (if I recall correctly) of using high-strength, but lightweight compounds such as a carbon-fiber composite, to create a dunebuggy/HUMVEE cross-breed. I have no idea how that ended up turning out, as I assume it was mostly talk.

 

[3-Wheel Drive]

Introducing the Ford F650 "pickup" truck.

*snip*

Actually, in all seriousness the next military tough truck should be based off of this:
*snip*

Unlike the GM and Dodge heavy/super duty trucks the Ford has a boxed frame and not a "C" frame.

They can't use those. Armor adds weight. Any heavier, and they wouldn't be able to get a C-4 off the ground with one of those in the cargo bay.

Plus, they're Fords. They'll burst into flames before they even reach the combat zones.

 

[Muzaffar]

Thanks for clearing it up Brad.Don't know a lot about military vehicle.But i think there is no substitute on the market that could replace the Humvee.The Hummer was only built for one purpose,"the army".Then when some rich people demand for a road going version,then the Hummer came along.After that,several other models came out (and so on).But do Hummers save fuel as much as other SUV/Pickup trucks on diesel?Or is it just the Humvee?

 

[Joey D]

The Humvee can actually run on just about anything or so I'm told.

 

[Tornado]

Finally, if I'm not mistaken, the Lambo was made out of "lightweight" materials, making it highly vulnerable to small arms fire, not to mention the various IED and RPG threats our vehicles face every day.

The H1 is just as vulnerable.

 

[Joey D]

The H1 is bad because our government thinks sending people off to war is cool without the proper equipment. The Humvee has very poor armour for whatever reason.

 

[Tornado]

The Humvee has very poor armour for whatever reason.

It wasn't designed for the role it is playing, or has always played, for that matter.

 

[Joey D]

If they just armoured the thing better there wouldn't be any issues, seriously if 50 cent can have something that would survive a nuclear holocaust why can't the American troops have the same thing?

I'm not trying to turn this into a political discussion, I mean I have my reasons for why the Humvee is under armoured but that isn't important here.

 

[Tornado]

If they just armoured the thing better there wouldn't be any issues, seriously if 50 cent can have something that would survive a nuclear holocaust why can't the American troops have the same thing?

Because when they armour the thing (something else it wasn't designed for), it becomes even less manueverable than it normally is. When you add that the large amounts of weight added to the H1 still makes it quite vulnerable (if not more so) to what it faces these days, it essentially makes it the equivalent of a new-age M4 Sherman, only completely lacking the ability to defend itself.
​

 

[a6m5]

If it was just about transporting troops, I would go smaller. Tacoma, Jeep type vehicles with 4-doors, modified with armour, more powerful motor.

I remember reading that sometimes, putting too much armour on vehicle is dangerous, because it slows them down significantly. It weighs a lot less to armour the actual soldiers inside those vehicles.

Edit: Toronado beat me to it.

 

[YSSMAN]

Because when they armour the thing (something else it wasn't designed for), it becomes even less manueverable than it normally is. When you add that the large amounts of weight added to the H1 still makes it quite vulnerable (if not more so) to what it faces these days, it essentially makes it the equivalent of a new-age M4 Sherman, only completely lacking the ability to defend itself.
​

Pretty much, which is why many of the patrols done in Iraq are now done with the Stryker vehicle...

That, pretty much, is safe enough for just about anything these days.

===

The International FTTS, apparently, is one of the leading designs as of late:

Looks safe and powerful enough...

The ULTRA AP was a leading design for a while, but I'm unsure of the future. Its rather odd, isn't it?

 

[3-Wheel Drive]

Good, God, that third vehicle is unfathomably hideous.

 

[DC5dude]

Good, God, that third vehicle is unfathomably hideous.

Agreed, Look like a giant dung beetle with wheels.

 

[Tornado]

I'm sure "looking cool" was high on their priority list.