The US Army dismissed Humvees and JLTVs as “excess ground vehicles” in a statement made at the end of April as part of the new strategic thinking within the Department of Defense (DoD).
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed a sweeping overhaul intended to eliminate wasteful and obsolete programmes. While some of these policies are ideologically motivated, such as the cancellation of DEI projects, the DoD will also look to reallocate funds to the most promising and lethal programmes.
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AM General, a heavy vehicle manufacturer based in Indiana, is a DoD contractor tasked with delivering both vehicle types. The Army has operated High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles, known colloquially as HUMVEEs, since 1989. Likewise, Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs) have been in service since 2016.
In 2023, the company supplanted Oshkosh, the original equipment manufacturer of the JLTV, to deliver the new A2 variant, which constitutes 250 engineering changes compared to the A1 version.
Recently, the company told Army Technology that its new, 96-acre production facility for the A2 is already up and running, with plans to reach initial deliveries in this quarter.
AM General will build 20,000 JLTV A2s and 10,000 trailers by 2057. The company aim to eventually meet a production rate of 15 vehicles per day, which is close to full rate production.
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By GlobalDataIn the meantime, the supplier noted a backlog for deliveries of vehicles through 2027 and the manufacturer remains committed to meeting its contractual delivery requirements.
All of this has been thrown into question as the Army, prompted by a shift of priorities in the DoD, will cancel its orders.
No doubt rattled, but still composed, AM General offered the following statement:
“As we work to understand the significance of the DoD’s recent communications, we will continue to operate our HUMVEE and JLTV A2 assembly lines and our Aftermarket Fulfillment facility as normal to meet our contractual requirements.”
What does the US Army mean?
It is certainly the case that the Army’s rhetoric is negative: “yesterday’s weapons will not win tomorrow’s wars.” Yet, the Letter to the Force, signed by the Secretary of the Army and the the Chief of Defence Staff, is not entirely clear to what extent the Army will abandon these vehicles.
Will the service keep its existing vehicles? Will they accept orders already under contract?
According to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, the US Army have just over 2,000 armoured HUMVEE units and more than 1,300 general purpose JLTVs in active service.
As the US pivot their focus from Europe the Pacific to challenge the rising threat of the China’s military expansion, it seems these vehicles will prove less useful than amphibious vehicles such as BAE Systems’ ACV.
