The USA’s 2009 Hummer Orders

15-Oct-2009 12:36 EDT  |  Related Stories: Americas - USA, Contracts - Awards, Contracts - Modifications, Other Corporation, Spotlight articles, Trucks & Transport

M1165 HMMWV
(click to view full)

The US military’s Hummers have demonstrated severe payload and survivability limitations. Nevertheless, they remain a fixture in the fleet, and new orders continue. At one point, the US Marines’ objective was to restrict Hummers to use “inside the wire” of American bases in Iraq. Instead, a sharp reduction in violence within Iraq, and a lower vehicle threat level so far in Afghanistan, have given the HMMWVs a new lease on life. They are still seeing extensive use on the front lines, and the early wear created by the weight of their add-on armor has led to RESET maintenance programs for some Hummers and allied giveaways for others.

By mid-2007, the US Army had about 19,000 HMMWVs serving on the Iraqi front alone. As Hummers wear out and are given away, or are sent to a depot, they must be replaced. Some replacement involves cycling vehicles from other units into theater, but those units must eventually have their lost vehicles replaced with Hummers or with something else, in order to maintain their own readiness rates for deployment. Hence the necessity for ongoing buys of more Hummers, in the absence of a program to provide replacements on a fleet-wide basis.

This Spotlight article covers the family’s newest variants, and chronicles the US military’s 2009 purchases. Recent updates cover the final set of FY 2009 orders, and enhanced the timeline via a detailed search that reconciled budgets with announced orders.

• Hummer Replacements?
• The HMMWV Family
• Contracts and Key Events, FY 2009 [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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BAE Invents VEE Quick-Escape Bulletproof Windows (updated)

04-Aug-2009 14:09 EDT  |  Related Stories: Americas - USA, BAE, Contracts - Awards, Design Innovations, New Systems Tech, Trucks & Transport

Outta here.
(click to view full)

Up-armored Hummers are still the most common vehicles in front-line service with American forces. To date, however, soldiers have reported problems getting doors open or getting out of the vehicle after land mine blasts, or during accidents that involve water. Lives have been lost, and the problem has spawned ingenious solutions like 10th Mountain Division’s door-ripping “Rat Claw” that saved Lt. Col. Michael Infanti in Iraq.

BAE’s VEE Window is a simple technology that allows crews inside a HMMWV to remove the ballistic windshields in less than 5 seconds and escape during an emergency, such as a rollover or accident. A crew member who can move freely simply pulls out the locking pins, turns the 2 latches, and pushes the window out. Since the window is otherwise normal, the VEE Window meets current windows’ ballistic properties, and was approved for the M1114 HMMWV following a series of Army performance and safety tests at Aberdeen Test Center in the summer of 2007. Orders have followed…

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$735M for 4,853 More Hummers

29-Sep-2008 17:48 EDT  |  Related Stories: Americas - USA, Contracts - Awards, Other Corporation, Trucks & Transport

RE HMMWV, changes
(click to view full,
new parts in yellow)

AM General LLC in South Bend, IN received a $735 million firm-fixed-price contract for 4,853 High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV). Work will be performed in Mishawaka, MI with an estimated completion date of Dec 31/09. One bid was solicited and one bid was received by US Army TACOM in Warren, MI (DAAE07-01-C-S001). Note that these are just contracts for the basic vehicle; items like CROWS weapon mounts, Blue Force Tracker electronics, radios, et. al. are contracted separately and installed.

This tranche follows a flurry of orders in April and May 2008. See: “$650.1M for 4,526 Hummers,” “Another 3,216 Hummers for $522.4M,” and “$187.5M for Another 1,470 Hummers.”

The US military has begun fielding “Reliability Enhanced” M1151, M1152 and M1165 model HMMWVs. There have been some changes made, based on the harsh environment of South West Asia, increased payload demands, and some feedback from the field.

$187.5M for Another 1,470 Hummers

15-May-2008 16:43 EDT  |  Related Stories: Americas - USA, Other Corporation, Trucks & Transport

M1152 HMMWV
(click to view full)

AM General, LLC, South Bend, Ind., was awarded on May 13, 2008, a $187.75 million firm-fixed price contract for 1,470 High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicles (Hummers). Work will be performed at Mishawaka, IN and is expected to be complete by Dec. 31, 2009. One bid was solicited and 1 bid received by he US Army TACOM in Warren, MI (DAAE07-01-C-S001). Note that this is just the base delivery; additional funding will be required to add more armor, weapons. communications gear, and other Government Furnished Equipment.

This contract can be added to other recent announcements. See the mid-April 2008 article “$650.1M for 4,526 Hummers” and the early May article “Another 3,216 Hummers for $522.4M”.

Another 3,216 Hummers for $522.4M

07-May-2008 18:58 EDT  |  Related Stories: Americas - USA, Other Corporation, Trucks & Transport

RE HMMWV, changes
(click to view full,
new parts in yellow)

As “$650.1M for 4,526 Hummers” explained in mid-April 2008, the US military continues to orders Hummers by the thousands. Now AM General, LLC in South Bend, IN has received a follow-on a $522.4 million firm-fixed price contract, which will add 3,216 EA High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicles to the contract (DAAE07-01-C-S001). Work will be performed in Mishawaka, IN and is expected to be complete by Dec 31/09. One bid was solicited on March 17/06 by TACOM in Warren, MI.

The US military has begun fielding “Reliability Enhanced” M1151, M1152 and M1165 model HMMWVs. There have been some changes made, based on the harsh environment of South West Asia, increased payload demands, and some feedback from the field. The new models have been under development for about 18 months, from mid-2006, and are now in full production following durability testing by the U.S. Government.

Hummers for the Holidays!

04-Jan-2007 10:13 EST  |  Related Stories: Americas - USA, Contracts - Modifications, New Systems Tech, Other Corporation, Trucks & Transport

M1165 ECV Hummer
(click to view full)

Who could turn down a nice Hummer or two to celebrate the season and create a more festive mood? Certainly not the generals running the US Army! Indeed, the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) remains the main source of mobility for US land forces. Despite vastly accelerated wear cause by the extra weight of up-armoring the vehicles, and the steady movement of US allies to more survivable options designed for the non-linear battlefield, the size of the existing fleet ensures that the “Humvee” (or “Hummer”) is expected to remain in that leading role for some time to come. This will remain true even after the coming expiration of its contract and fielding of a replacement. There is no shortage of mine-resistant replacement contenders – though DID readers will also recall that up-armored is not the same thing as mine-resistant.

Meanwhile, production of various HMMWV versions, including the no longer mysterious “M1165” variant, is continuing at AM General LLC. Recent US contracts over the last 2 weeks have totaled $336.6 million, and include different variants of the vehicles…

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$1.1B in Hummer Orders Issued by US Army TACOM

17-Nov-2006 12:36 EST  |  Related Stories: Americas - USA, Contracts - Modifications, New Systems Tech, Other Corporation, Trucks & Transport

M1152 HMMWV
(click to view full)

The USA’s High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) remains the main source of mobility for US land forces. Despite vastly accelerated wear cause by the extra weight of up-armoring the vehicles, and the steady movement of US allies to more survivable options designed for the non-linear battlefield, the size of the existing fleet ensures that the “Humvee” (or “Hummer”) is expected to remain in that leading role for some time to come. This will remain true even after the coming expiration of its contract and fielding of a replacement. There is no shortage of mine-resistant replacement contenders – though DID readers will also recall that up-armored is not the same thing as mine-resistant.

Meanwhile, the US Army has just issued over $1 billion in orders for more Hummers.

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A Month in the Life: Sept 2006 Hummer-Related Contracts

27-Sep-2006 03:40 EDT  |  Related Stories: Americas - USA, Contracts - Awards, Contracts - Modifications, Delivery & Task Orders, Force Structure, Issues - Political, Lobbying, Other Corporation, Trucks & Transport

HMMWV, IEDed
(click to view full)

The USA’s High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) remains the main source of mobility for US land forces. Despite vastly accelerated wear cause by the extra weight of up-armoring the vehicles, and the steady movement of US allies to more survivable options designed for the non-linear battlefield, the size of the existing fleet and continued large procurements mean that the “Humvee” (or “Hummer”) is expected to remain in that leading role for some time to come. A large associated manufacturing base in crucial political states doesn’t hurt, either.

A number of contracts for vehicles and up-armoring have been issued in September 2006, and DID will use this article to track all HMMWV-related contracts during this time period.

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$595.8M Contract for M1151 Hummers & Up-Armor Price Limits

02-Aug-2006 06:43 EDT  |  Related Stories: Americas - USA, Contracts - Modifications, Other Corporation, Trucks & Transport

AM General L.L.C. in South Bend, IN received a $595.8 million modification to a firm-fixed-price contract (DAAE07-01-C-S001) for M1151A1s with B1Kit, and to establish ceiling prices for armor kits. DID has covered the new M1151 Hummers before, including their field-installable up-armoring kit.

Work will be performed in South Bend, IN, and is expected to be complete by Dec. 31, 2007. This was a sole source contract initiated on July 17, 2000 by the Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, MI is the contracting activity.

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$56.2M for more New M1152 HMMWVs

23-Mar-2006 05:02 EST  |  Related Stories: Americas - USA, Contracts - Modifications, Design Innovations, Helicopters & Rotary, New Systems Tech, Other Corporation, Trucks & Transport

HMMWV, IEDed
(click to view full)

AM General L.L.C. in South Bend, IN received another $56.2 million modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for new M1152 two-door, armor-installable HMMWV jeeps. DID has covered the M1151 and M1152 HMMWVs before, and explained both their improvements and their persistent weaknesses.

Work will be performed in South Bend, IN and is expected to be complete by Dec. 31, 2007. This was a sole source contract initiated on July 17, 2000 by the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command in Warren, MI (DAAE07-01-C-S001).

Continue reading…