M1151 Enhanced Armament Carrier 1:35

In the early 1980s, the US Army developed a requirement for a new multi-purpose vehicle to provide greater capabilities to the warfighter while simplifying the support requirements needed to keep the existing fleet of vehicles operating. At this point in time, the Army was still using the M151 Mutt, M561 Gamma Goat, M718 and M792 ambulances, and a number of commercial vehicles (CUCV) to fulfill its various missions. A common chassis and powerplant would significantly simplify the training and number of parts it took to keep these vehicles operational. So started the High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) program.

AM General won the program and has produced over 190,000 vehicles in over 16 variants since the mid-1980s. Early versions of the Humvee were powered by 6.2 liter diesel engines while newer types received the 6.5 liter diesel. All Humvees are equipped with automatic transmissions to simplify driver workload.

The M1113 Expanded Capability Vehicle was the first variant that was built upon an improved chassis and powertrain that allowed heavier payloads including add-on armor. The M1114 is built upon the ECV chassis and makes good use of that enhanced payload capability with the addition of more armor for the crew cab, armored turret, and built-in air conditioning. The new armor can protect against armor-piercing 7.62mm round and 12lb mine blasts.

The M1151 Enhanced Armament Carrier is the current variant of the Humvee operating in theater. Also built upon the ECV chassis, the M1151 has a more powerful diesel engine and stronger suspension to support the additional weight, the capability for modular armor that can be added and removed as required for the threat level, and like the updated M1113, it also has air conditioning to help keep crews more comfortable during desert operations.