The military-spec High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV, or Humvee) has provided the U.S military solid utility use for many years. But now American troops in Iraq, Afghanistan or anywhere else the U.S. military is active need a new updated vehicle that’s been designed and built to better counter roadside bombs and other dangerous issues.

The final 2,620 Humvees have been ordered from AM General by the U.S. Army. In total, AM General has produced 240,000 Humvees since 1985.

Just like the Humvee replacing the original military Jeep some 25 years ago, the next generation military vehicle needs a revised skill set, not the least of which is adequate protection from improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. More than 1,700 U.S. troops have died in Iraq alone from IEDs as of last month, and the military is responding by switching to what’s called Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, or MRAPs.

The Humvee isn’t ready for the scrap heap just yet, as the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force still have thousands in service. In the U.S. Army’s latest budget nearly a billion dollars was set aside to maintain its existing fleet of Humvees.

The Humvees used for military purposes are not the same as those sold under the civilian Hummer brand, which General Motors is still trying to sell to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery of China.

Photo Credit: U.S. Army