Marine Humvee

Humvee.

Since 2005, it is possible to obtain a so called Marine Humvee Armor Kit to improve a military Humvee and make it better shielded. The Humvee was never intended for combat, but today the Marine frequently end up in situations where increased protections is necessary. The wars of the new millennia are different, and the distinction between combat areas and non-combat land is gradually being increasingly blurred.

A marine Humvee armor kit can for instance be used to protect the passengers from explosive devices and similar ballistic battlefield hazards. It is today available for both four-door and two-door Humvees. You can give extra protection to doors, flanks and roofs, and gunner shield kits are very popular. Increasing the durability of backplate and undercarriage is also important. Suspension springs and air-conditioning systems make driving less arduous and demanding. A marine Humvee armor kit is typically made from rolled homogenous armor, ballistic glass and  two types of steel – mild steel and high hard steel.

Before ready made marine Humvee armor kits were made readily available, marines made their own ad hoc protection kits by using obtainable off-the-shelf items. They would for instance use ballistic blankets, ballistic glass and commercially available protective panels to stay alive. As mentioned above, the Humvee was never intended for combat and the standard Humvee offers a very low level of protection. As marines driving Humvees was forced to enter situations where they would be attacked, the need for increased protection became clear and the inventive marines used whatever they could find to improve their vehicles.

The new marine Humvee armor kits are based on the needs of the marines, but are safer to use than the improvised armor kits that were constructed in the field. Some of the improvised kits turned out to increase the risk of injury in certain situations. The producers of marine Humvee armor kits have learned a lot from the experience gained by marine soldiers in the field and taken their inventions to a new level, by offering both stronger protection and a lower risk of injury caused by the armor kit itself. Ballistic testing in controlled situations have been another important source of information during the development of marine Humvee armor kits.

To withstand future threats, marine Humvee armor kit engineers continuously work to improve and alter the armor kits. In the evolving world of today, a kit that is great today may be highly unsuitable in a decade from now. It is impossible to make a Humvee as durable and safe as a main battle tank, but you can at least make it safer than the standard Humvee. You can also increase its resilience towards homemade explosives and other hazards that Humvees frequently encounters when working among civilians.

A problem with marine Humvee protection kits is of course that they increase the weight of the vehicle. Today, most kits weigh from 3,500 pounds and up. There are smaller models, such as the 1,800 pound marine Humvee armor kit, but such small units offer a lower lever of protection.