Army plans to buy next-gen Humvees

[unhappycamper]

Humvee variant
Would have bigger payload, electronic controls


Army plans to buy next-gen Humvees
By Kris Osborn - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Sep 13, 2008 18:18:56 EDT

In 2009 and 2010, the Army plans to spend about $4.5 billion to buy more than 10,000 Humvees and next-generation variants called the Expanded Capacity Vehicle-2, according to the service’s Aug. 25 Wheeled Tactical Vehicle strategy.

Now undergoing Army testing, the 5- to 6-ton ECV-2 is designed to offer the same payload — 3,500 pounds — as existing Humvees did before extra armor ate into their cargo capacity. And at about half the cost of the Army’s planned Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, ECV-2 purchases might replace some JLTV orders.

“It is the last evolution of the Humvee,” said Col. Timothy Goddette, director of Soldier/Manuever and Sustainment Systems. “We are trying to meet the requirements of the Humvee and buy back the payload and performance lost from all the armor that was put on the up-armored Humvees.”

In 2009, the Army plans to spend about $2.76 billion on Humvees and ECV-2s. That includes the base-budget request for roughly $1 billion, which would buy about 1,000 ECV-2s and about 4,000 standard Humvees, according to Army budget documents. The total also includes another $1.62 billion and more than 5,000 Humvees and ECV-2s requested in the 2009 supplemental, a figure that has been approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense panel.

In 2010, the Army plans to spend at least $1.7 billion on Humvees, the documents say. The documents call for a total Army fleet of 141,000 light tactical vehicles by 2010, up from about 120,000 now.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/army_humvees_091508w/%2e