Marine Humvee upgrade seen as inevitable.

• Author: Insinna, Valerie

The Marine Corps is deciding how to rejuvenate its war-weary Humvee fleet. Compromised performance--caused by a decade of combat zone wear and tear and being overloaded by armor--is prompting this action.

The service plans on issuing a request for proposals later this year for its Humvee sustainment modification initiative, which will upgrade 6,700 expanded capacity variants (ECVs).

The Marine Corps is focusing on safety, reliability and mobility, said David Branham, spokesman for the service's Program Executive Office Land Systems.

"We can't do everything. But some of these things we can do are mission essential, like restoring that reliability piece," Branham said. "We also have to at least retain--if not outright--improve mobility."

Armoring the vehicle has led to "increased maintenance demands, increased braking distances, increased acceleration times, reduced side slope and grade performance and degraded on/off road performance," according to the advanced technology investment plan (ATIP) PEO Land Systems issued in 2012. Upgrades would extend the fleet's life to at least 2030, it continued.

The Marine Corps intends to eventually field the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, currently in its engineering and manufacturing development phase. However, because the service does not have enough funding to completely replace its Humvee fleet with JLTVs, sustainment of the Humvee will continue to be an enduring requirement.

The improvement initiative is still in its early stages. The Marine Corps and Army are currently conducting studies at the Nevada Automotive Test Center in Silver Springs to determine what technology is already available in the market, which will help the services to price options, Branham said. "Our budget in P1 [fiscal year] 14 is $8.1 million, so we're not talking a lot of money here. We won't do anything that's not affordable."

The ATIP said key areas of improvement include the suspension, engine and transmission.

"The suspension systems are breaking. The ride height is significantly reduced, the ride quality is reduced [and] the reliability of the vehicle is reduced," said John Bryant, vice president and general manager of joint programs for Oshkosh Defense. "In essence, the Humvee is just too heavy for its own drive-train and suspension."

The ATIP said upgrades to the vehicle's suspension would reduce the amount of force transferred to the chassis, thereby lowering operation and maintenance costs. Additionally, upgrades to...