20070129 Level 5 Armor on Hummers headed for Iraq

Level 5 Armor on Hummers headed for Iraq

January 29^th, 2007

As far back as May 3^rd, 2005, (see pasted below) there were reports that the Hummers were headed to Iraq with increased armor capacity.

Now “word is” that Level 5 armor on Hummers are being installed and headed for Iraq. “These kits are the latest and most improved armor and will save lives.”

The Strategy Page has some background from almost two years ago.:

Armored Hummers Become Permanent

by James Dunnigan May 3, 2005

The U.S. Army is planning to replace about 40 percent of its 115,000 hummers with a new model, the M1151, that is built to handle the additional weight of armor protection. The key changes are a stronger suspension and a larger engine (a 6.5 liter turbo-diesel). This allows the vehicle to easily handle an additional 1,500 pounds of armor. More importantly, the armor is easily installed, or taken off. This allows the hummers to operate more efficiently, most of the time, without the armor. Currently, the army is buying 14,000 M1151s, and another 8,000 M1114 models (with permanent armor installed) hummers. One major problem with the armored hummers is that they have more difficulty operating in mountainous areas like Afghanistan. Iraq is largely flat, at least the areas where armored hummers are needed.

While armored hummers have been very useful in the low level combat encountered in Iraq, most other likely combat situations will not require them. In fact, armored hummers would be a disadvantage in, say, Korea, where they would require more fuel and maintenance, as well as performing less well in the hilly terrain found there. But for peacekeeping situations, where the peace has not quite settled in yet, armored hummers are life-savers, literally.

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