Army swaps iconic Humvee for a faster, cheaper vehicle

Washington-Army is a icon for a lighter, faster, cheaper truck designed for future battlefields.

The infantry team, which is more dash buggy than the armored truck, is one of the most visible signs of the army’s passage from the Cold War Period equipment that defines for generations. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the grinding rebellion demanded more and more armor to protect the troops from the roadside bombs. In their place: quickly and in most cases commercial, ready -made technology with a series of vehicles and drones.

“Humvee is the most perfect GI Joe tool.” He said. He continued: “The perfect army vehicle we’ve been living in since 1985. So Humvee for 40 years. It was good for high mobility at that time.

For Pentagon officials like Miller, this struggle probably includes China and will require speed and agility to survive. Wars will certainly look like the war caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Deadly drones turned slow -moving trucks and even tanks into death traps.

Enter the infantry team vehicle. Basically, a roof sitting for a vehicle or nine soldiers who have no doors. The army plans to equip light infantry units with hundreds of drones to attack and attack enemies with trucks.

Army’s new signature vehicle

II. During World War II, and in most 40 years of the following 40 years, the olive-ache jeeps became synonymous with the army. Small, rugged truck was transferred to civilian use and the ancestors of the land vehicles and SUVs that patrol the suburbs and ferry children to the facade lines of football games.

High mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle known as Humvee, starting from 1985, ran for 40 years as the army’s labor truck. The Pentagon bought more than 300,000 Humvees and about 100,000 people remained in service. The soldiers continued them in operations from Afghanistan to Alaska. Humvee, which is more oriented than a jeep, offered multiple versions, including someone who could hunt and destroy a tank with a missile.

Nevertheless, in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the rebels ruthlessly attacked their head fragile, they were easily disintegrated by explosives buried on the roads at a flat bottom made of aluminum. Improvised explosive devicesIn both wars, IEDS became the number one killer of US troops.

Pentagon, under Defense Secretary Robert GatesDuring the George W. Bush administration, Humvee replaced the army’s most important priority. The mine -resistant ambush -protected (MRAP) vehicle saved the lives and limbs of thousands of soldiers, a heavy truck with a V -shaped body that deviates the explosion from bombs.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter in 2012 Published data In the IED attacks on the event of the MRAPs to the USA TODAY.

“If you are in a mrap, it will be more than nine to 14 times less than a humvee.” He said.

However, MRAP’s protection presented at the expense of speed and agility. Pentagon bought smaller, armored trucks such as common light tactical tools. Although it was more Nimblers than the MRAPs, JLTV’s mass meant that it could not spread to the battlefields.

It is easier to repair the new ‘jeep’ of the army

Thousands of pounds from Humvee is lighter and $ 80,000 cheaper than the infantry team is based on the Chevrolet Colorado truck built in Missouri. Basically the same as the truck that consumers can buy at a local dealership. Only 20% of the components of the infantry team, including communication and electronic equipment, are unique to the army.

This is an important difference compared to trucks such as Humvees and JLTVs built specifically for the army.

Miller, the best technical consultant of the army, said, ız You can repair anywhere in the world as long as you have access to commercial parts rather than a private military vehicle with special military parts. ”

However, some Pentagon officials acknowledge that speed and expense changes have lost life and limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan. The infantry team represents the latest assessment of what the soldiers need for the next war.

New drones and robots accompanying the truck can be sent to help soldiers avoid ambush. Mil Miller, not speed, armor, is what will save the lives of the soldiers, Mil Miller said.

“The longer you sit and the slower you are, the easier it will be to kill you,” he said.

According to a senior defense official who is not authorized to speak publicly, the Infantry Team vehicle represents the best forecast of the army based on decades of war experience.

The authority said the vehicle would be based on an attack. It was designed to whisk the soldiers within a few miles from the front and to make a short distance to the fight.

What if the army retreats to a bloody, urban fight with IEDs?

Authorized, he said we’ll get something else.

Michael O’Hhanlon, a national security expert at the Brookings Institute, considers herself as the skeptic of the ISV.

20 years ago, he remembered that the army sank billions of future war systems. The venture aimed to replace Abrams Tanks and Bradley infantry war vehicles with a fleet of manned and unmanned systems. It failed.

“He worked great at PowerPoint, O’Hhanlon said. “But technology wasn’t there at that time (to find everything before the explosion or influence) and still not. As Muhammad Ali said, ‘I will swim like a butterfly, I will suffer like a bee.’ May not surrender other than technology.

“They had to cut something, but I’m careful about this election.”

What do the soldiers think about it?

101. The soldiers in the Air Department were among the first people in the army. Many of them swear.

According to a slight Humvee, the infantry team means that the vehicle can be transported by a black hawk helicopter for a short distance. A Chinook helicopter with a twin rotor can carry a greater distance of two trucks in the cargo sheep. A Humvee’s weight requires a chinook, and then only one hanging can be moved.

On the ground, the infantry team is faster than a humvee and more fuel savings. Speed, 101. For the air in the air, the 1st Mobile Brigade Commands the war team Col. Trevor Voelkel helps infantry soldiers to keep up with the travel to the war. In May, Voelkel’s brigade tested new equipment, including about 200 trucks at the Joint Preparatory Training Center in Fort Polk in Louisiana.

Vo We are going back to our concept of the original humvee, Vo said Voelkel. “But it will be easier to repair, with a newer, lighter, more commercial vehicle that will be cheaper to repair.”

William Melko, the 1st Sergeant on Voelkel’s Brigade, had a driving experience of other army trucks in Afghanistan. None gave their soldiers a better opinion about the potential threats around them. It is easier to drive, especially for young soldiers.

“The best way to describe this is like a normal turntable, Mel Melko said.

Last year, after the Hurricane Helene sank the Southeast, Lieutenant Col. Jonathan Nielsen commanded a battalion of 101, responding to floods in North Carolina. The infantry team of his troops said that a humvee could not be reached on damaged roads.

Trucks also made better maneuver than Humvees on the streets of the city.

“Swedy will be an iconic vehicle, N Nielsen said.

Contributor: Ramon Padilla, Graphics

This article was initially published on the Usa Today: The army’s replacement of iconic humvee is faster, cheaper and lighter