TECH TIPS
IT’S NOT OVER TILL ...
The most common vehicle currently operated by the U.S. military is the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or Humvee. The Army owns the majority of Humvees, which number more than 100,000. The Marine Corps is next with 24,000. The other services together operate about 10,000.
The Humvee is also popular overseas; and more than sixty foreign militaries operate about 250,000. The company that builds the HMMWV, AM General, recently received a contract to produce up to 11,500 more in a variety of configurations for nine different U.S. allies and partners.
There is a plan to replace a portion of the U.S. Humvee fleet with the new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV). The U.S. Army wants to buy 49,000 JLTVs over the next 25 years. The Marine Corps hopes to acquire 5,500 and shrink its Humvee fleet to about 13,000.
Still, it’s expected that the U.S. Army and Marine Corps will operate more Humvees than JLTVs for the next quarter-century; and by the time the Army finishes its planned buy of JLTVs, the average age of its Humvees will be more than 35 years. This is also what the Marine Corps plans
