The Humvee Is Now 40 Years Old
The Humvee gained fame navigating the deserts of the Middle East during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
“Life begins at 40,” as one saying goes. Speaking as someone who’ll be turning fifty in another six months (don’t let my dashing youthful, good looks fool you, dear readers), I like to think that my life began well before then, but I digress.
That said, Lordy, Lordy, look who’s forty. As hard to believe as it may seem, the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), better known by its colloquial name Humvee or its civilian market moniker of “Hummer,” has been in service to the U.S. Armed Forces for forty years. The National Interest now takes a brief look at the illustrious history of this iconic military vehicle.
Humvee early history and specifications
Built by AM General (headquartered in South Bend, Indiana), the Humvee was designed as a replacement for another legendary military vehicle, the 1940-vintage Willys Jeep, which in turn had been built by AM General’s predecessor company and was America’s first four-wheel-drive tactical utility truck. In other words, the Humvee had some big shoes to fill (or big wheel wells to fill if you want to be more literal about it).
AM General was more than up to the task. In 1983, the company won the initial U.S. Army contract to produce 55,000 Humvees over a five-year period, and two years later, the vehicles officially entered operational service.
A military-grade Humvee has the following technical specs and vital stats:
- Mass: 5,200 to 5,900 lb. (2,359 to 2,676 kgs) curb weight; 7,700 to 8,500 lb. (3,493 to 3,856 kgs) gross weight
- Length: 15 ft (4.57 m), wheelbase 10 ft 10 in (3.30 m)
- Height: 6 ft (1.83 m), reducible to 4 ft 6 in (1.37 m)
- Width: 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
- Maximum Speed: Over 70 mph (113 km/h); 55 mph (89 km/h) at max gross weight
- Powerplant: 6.2 L or 6.5 L Detroit Diesel V8
- Operational Range: 250-350 miles (400-560 km)
- Armament Options: M134 Minigun; Mk 19 40mm grenade launcher, Browning M2 “Ma Deuce” .50 caliber machine gun; GAU-19A/B Gatling gun; M240B machine gun; M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW)
According to my colleague Michael Peck in an August 5, 2021, article for The National Interest, “There are 300,000 Humvees operated by the U.S. military and foreign governments, plus another 11,000 Hummer H1 civilian models built between 1992 to 2006, according to GAO.”
Humvee operational history
The Humvee was first “blooded” in combat in Operation Just Cause, the December 1989 invasion of Panama. However, it was during Operation Desert Storm, i.e., the 1991 Persian Gulf War, that the HMMWV truly gained fame in the eyes of the American public, as it proved itself navigating the desert terrain of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and southern Iraq.
The vehicle and its crews took a severe pounding during the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia in 1993; lessons learned from that conflict led to the development of the M1114, an armored HMMWV built to withstand small arms fire, which went into production in 1996, serving faithfully in the Balkans, the Global War on Terror (Afghanistan and Iraq, and beyond.
Personal experiences with the Humvee
I got my first experience driving the Humvee as an Airman 1st Class (pay grade E-3) in the U.S. Air Force Security Forces (Hooah!) career field, safeguarding Minuteman III nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles in the frozen tundra of Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. I got reacquainted with the vehicle when working as a damn dirty mercenary—a private military contractor—supporting the Kosovo Force at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo in 2014 and again in 2021, whereupon my colleagues and I drove the vehicle for our mobile patrols of the base perimeter. I can attest that they were reasonably fun to drive, never broke down on my watch, and, in spite of the combo of the vehicle’s width and my depth perception deficiency, I never got into a fender bender with one.
Alas, I never got to take a joyride in the gun turret. C’est la vie.
The Humvee’s future?
All good things must come to an end, and as faithful as the Humvee is, its successor is already well underway. As noted in my February 19, 2025, article for The National Interest on this year’s International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, AM General is already touting its “next-generation joint light tactical vehicle” (JLTV A2)—a combat-ready jeep with unmatched “hybridization” and “noise-reduction” capabilities. Among the JLTV A2’s key features is its single lithium-ion battery, which replaces the two older, heavier, and bulkier lead acid batteries.
In addition, to cite Peck again, “The U.S. intends to replace many of its Humvees with the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle from manufacturer Oshkosh, though it may also continue to field Humvees at the same time.” (As might be surmised from the name, Oshkosh Defense is headquartered in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.)
About the Author: Christian D. Orr
Christian D. Orr was previously a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal (NSJ) and 19FortyFive. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch, The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS). If you’d like to pick his brain further, you can ofttimes find him at the Old Virginia Tobacco Company (OVTC) lounge in Manassas, Virginia, partaking of fine stogies and good quality human camaraderie.
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