The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the original jeep, and others such as the Vietnam War-era M151 Jeep, the M561 "Gama Goat", their M718A1 and M792 ambulance versions, the Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle, and other light trucks. Primarily used by the United States military, it is also used by numerous other countries and organizations and even in civilian adaptations. The Humvee saw widespread use in the Gulf War of 1991, where it navigated the desert terrain; this usage helped to inspire civilian Hummer versions. The vehicle's original unarmored design was later seen to be inadequate, and was found to be particularly vulnerable to improvised explosive devices in the Iraq War. The U.S. hastily up-armored select models and replaced front-line units with the MRAP. Under the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program, in 2015 the U.S. Army selected the Oshkosh L-ATV to replace the vehicle in front-line U.S. military service.
M1151 Enhanced Armament Carrier
Humvee interior
A U.S. Marine Corps M1123 HMMWV in 2004, equipped with a bolt-on MAK armor kit.
At the Bridgeport, California Mountain Warfare Training Center in March 1997, a test HMMWV drives through the snow, equipped with Mattracks treads.
Military light utility vehicle
Military light utility vehicle, or simply light utility vehicle (LUV), is a term used for the lightest weight class military vehicle category. A
Jeep-like four-wheel drive vehicle for military use by definition lighter than other military trucks and vehicles, inherently compact and usually with light or no armour, with short body overhangs for nimble all-terrain mobility, and frequently around 4-passenger capacity.
The Humvee has been the U.S. military's main light vehicle platform since the 1980s
Since World War II, jeeps like this U.S. Army Willys MB became a staple of 20th century armies around the world, and an archetype of light military vehicles
The Dodge WC series was built in some 50 variants. Shown here is a command / radio car with an ambulance behind it.
The Schwimmwagen, an amphibious vehicle used by the Wehrmacht