AM General announces new Humvee work

SOUTH BEND, Ind., Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Vehicle-maker AM General has received contracts for production of additional High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles for eight countries.

The contracts, worth a combined total of about $42.1 million, include modifications for vehicles and vehicle parts under earlier contracts. Covered under the awards are new production vehicles, international ambulance chassis vehicles, automotive kits, spare parts and training for the United States, Iraq, Afghanistan, Tunisia, Israel, Turkey, Kenya and Lebanon.

The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle is popularly known as the Humvee

"AM General continues to grow our backlog of new production HMMWVs while developing comprehensive modernization and maintenance programs for domestic and international customers," said Chris Vanslager, Executive Vice President, Defense Programs.

"The HMMWV continues to be the vehicle of choice around the globe for more than 60 partner nations, evolving over the years with significantly increased mobility, protection, reliability and durability in order to meet changing military missions and threats ...all at an affordable price."

AM General said there are about 230,000 Humvees in service around the world. About 160,000 of those are operated by the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Reserves and National Guard.