Military AM Generals

The HMMWV was designed for a war in Europe that never came and fought instead in the deserts and towns of the Gulf, the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan. Unarmoured versions carried troops, missiles, radios and stretchers; the roadside bombs of Iraq forced armour on the fleet and the M1114 and the Expanded Capacity Vehicles followed, with scalable kits that could be fitted to the threat.

The Humvee’s weight and vulnerability made the case for the MRAPs of 2007 and the JLTV of 2015, and AM General itself won the JLTV A2 rebuy in February 2023. Humvees remain in American reserve and allied service — Ukraine, Iraq, the Philippines and NATO members among them — and are expected to serve to at least 2050.