Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Humvee
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
===Use in combat=== HMMWVs first saw combat in [[United States invasion of Panama|Operation Just Cause]], the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989. The HMMWV was designed primarily for personnel and light cargo transport behind front lines, not as a frontline fighting vehicle. Like the previous jeep, the basic first-generation HMMWV has no armor (though armament carriers and hard-shell ambulances did have modest ballistic protection){{sfn|Zaloga|2006|loc=First-Generation HMMWV}} or protection against [[Weapon of mass destruction|chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear threats]]. Nevertheless, losses were relatively low in [[conventional warfare|conventional operations]], such as the [[Gulf War]]. Vehicles and crews suffered considerable damage and losses during the [[Battle of Mogadishu (1993)|Battle of Mogadishu]] in 1993 because of the nature of urban engagement. However, the chassis survivability allowed the majority of those crews to return to safety, though the HMMWV was never designed to offer protection against intense small arms fire, much less [[machine gun]]s and [[rocket-propelled grenade]]s. With the rise of [[asymmetric warfare]] and [[low-intensity conflict]]s, the HMMWV was pressed into service in urban combat roles for which it was not originally intended.<ref>[http://www.museum-mm.org/high-mobility-multipurpose-wheeled-vehicle-hmmwv/ HMMWV] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170306035417/http://www.museum-mm.org/high-mobility-multipurpose-wheeled-vehicle-hmmwv/ |date=6 March 2017}} museum-mm.org</ref> After [[Unified Task Force|Operation Restore Hope]] in Somalia, the military recognized a need for a more protected HMMWV. AM General developed the M1114, an armored HMMWV to withstand small arms fire. The M1114 has been in production since 1996, seeing limited use in the [[Balkans]] before deployment to the [[Middle East]]. This design is superior to the M998 with a larger, more powerful [[turbocharger|turbocharged]] engine, [[air conditioning]], and a strengthened [[Car suspension|suspension]] system. More importantly, it boasts a fully [[Vehicle armour|armored]] passenger area protected by hardened steel and [[Bulletproof glass|bullet-resistant glass]]. With the increase in direct attacks and asymmetric warfare in [[Iraq War|Iraq]], AM General diverted the majority of its manufacturing power to producing these vehicles.{{cn|date=April 2024}} Humvees were sent into [[War in Afghanistan (2001β2014)|Afghanistan]] following the [[September 11 attacks]], where they proved invaluable during initial operations. In the early years before [[Improvised explosive device|IEDs]] became prevalent, the vehicle was liked by troops for its ability to access rough, mountainous terrain. Some soldiers would remove features from Humvees, including what little armor it had and sometimes even entire doors, to make them lighter and more maneuverable for off-road conditions and to increase visibility. With the onset of the Iraq War, Humvees proved very vulnerable to IEDs; in the first four months of 2006, 67 U.S. troops died in Humvees. To increase protection, the U.S. military hastily added armor kits to the vehicles. Although this somewhat improved survivability, bolting on armor made the Humvee an "ungainly beast", increasing weight and putting a strain on the chassis, which led to unreliability. Armored doors that weighed hundreds of pounds were difficult for troops to open, and the newly armored turret made Humvees top-heavy and increased the danger of [[Vehicle rollover|rollovers]]. The [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine Corps]] decided to start replacing Humvees in combat with Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected ([[MRAP]]) vehicles in 2007, and the U.S. Army stated that the vehicle was "no longer feasible for combat" in 2012.<ref name="army-tech30sep14" /><ref name="telegraph14march14" /> However, Humvees have also been used by [[Taliban]] insurgents for [[car bomb|suicide bombings]] against the [[Afghan National Security Forces]] in the country.<ref name="wp">{{Cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/official-suicide-bomber-in-eastern-afghanistan-kills-5/2020/05/18/a7a9d542-98c1-11ea-ad79-eef7cd734641_story.html |title=Taliban suicide bomber kills 9 troops in eastern Afghanistan |date=May 18, 2020 |via= washingtonpost.com/ |access-date=25 June 2020 |archive-date=23 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523172225/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/official-suicide-bomber-in-eastern-afghanistan-kills-5/2020/05/18/a7a9d542-98c1-11ea-ad79-eef7cd734641_story.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-05/18/c_139066055.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520104753/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-05/18/c_139066055.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 May 2020 |title=At least 7 killed in Taliban attack in Afghanistan's Ghazni|date=May 18, 2020 |via= xinhuanet.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/05/18/world/asia/ap-as-afghanistan.html |title=Official: Suicide Bomber in Eastern Afghanistan Kills 5 |date=May 18, 2020 |via= nytimes.com}}</ref> The HMMWV has become the vehicular backbone of U.S. forces around the world. Over 10,000 HMMWVs were employed by coalition forces during the Iraq War.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Warner |first1=Fara |author-link=Fara Warner |title=Army Stepping Up Its Humvee Orders For Troops in Iraq |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/25/business/army-stepping-up-its-humvee-orders-for-troops-in-iraq.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=18 January 2019 |date=25 December 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121643/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/25/business/army-stepping-up-its-humvee-orders-for-troops-in-iraq.html |archive-date=19 January 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Humvee has been described as a vehicle with "the right capability for its era": designed to provide payload mobility in protected (safe) areas. However, deploying the vehicle to conflict zones where it was exposed to a full spectrum of threat which it was neither designed to operate, or be survivable in, led to adding protection at the cost of mobility and payload.<ref name="army-tech30sep14" /> On 22 April 2022, [[United States Department of Defense|Pentagon]] [[Press Secretary]] John F. Kirby described a package of military equipment being transported to [[Ukraine]] to assist in its war with Russia, including "100 armored Humvee vehicles".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/2998981/howitzers-helicopters-humvees-headed-to-ukraine/https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/2998981/howitzers-helicopters-humvees-headed-to-ukraine/|title=Howitzers, Helicopters, Humvees Headed to Ukraine|website=U.S. Department of Defense}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> An additional 50 were promised on 19 August 2022, and were delivered at an unknown date.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3134457/775-million-in-additional-security-assistance-for-ukraine/ |title=$775 Million in Additional Security Assistance for Ukraine |access-date=28 September 2022 |archive-date=21 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220821115628/https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3134457/775-million-in-additional-security-assistance-for-ukraine/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A number of Humvees were used in the assault on the Russian [[oblast]] of [[Belgorod Oblast|Belgorod]] on 22 May 2023.<ref name="auto" /> Ukraine first received Humvees from the U.S. in 2001, and they were used by them in peacekeeping operations in Kosovo that same year.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a43993683/raid-in-russia-belgorod-leaves-behind-american-humvees-mraps/|title=A Raid in Russia's Belgorod Left Behind a Trail of American Humvees|date=25 May 2023|website=Popular Mechanics|access-date=23 June 2023|archive-date=23 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230623190349/https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a43993683/raid-in-russia-belgorod-leaves-behind-american-humvees-mraps/|url-status=live}}</ref>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)