Sep

Army to start evaluating balsa wood and foam Humvee

Posted by admin Published in Hummer, Etc.

Civilian Hummers are the bane of environmentalists everywhere, but expanded before poseurs decided that they wanted to look tougher than everyone else, the military HUMVEE was born. The HUMVEE was originally conceived as a general purpose utility vehicle to replace the Jeep. by the years it evolved to take on increasingly roles just as the combat environments they function in plus evolved. One specific example of the environment changing is the improvised explosive device that has killed so many public in Iraq.

Because the HUMVEE was never intended to resist such weapons, they are very vulnerable. Troops have added increasingly armor to existing vehicles but that additional weight causes them to ride much lower than normal which may actually

produce them increasingly vulnerable to explosives. In an attempt to address the issue, the Army is working with AM General to to assess the use of lighter weight materials in the body and frame of the HUMVEE. They have used fiberglass, balsa wood, foam and carbon reinforcements to reduce the weight of the HUMVEE by 900 lbs. That weight reduction would allow the use of additional armor without riding so low, making it safer. It would additionally supply reduced fuel consumption which is always an advantage to military forces.

[Source: Army Times via Gizmodo]

Original post by Sam Abuelsamid