Approximately 400,000 armored vehicles as of 2016
Engineering Vehicles
M105 (DEUCE) M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) M60A3 Panther & M1 Panther II MDCVs can be used
Other Vehicles
EM113A2 Rapid Entry Vehicle 2 (EM113A2 REV2 / SPIRAL 2) M113A2 Fire Fighting Vehicle NASA Armored Rescue M113 Type 1 Technical (Toyota Land Cruiser 70 Series)
Improvised Vehicles
CV-990 Tire Assault Vehicle (TAV) Marvin Heemeyer Armored Bulldozer
Composite Armored Vehicle – Advanced Technology Demonstrator (CAV-ATD)Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV)NASA/AMES/FMC HAZMAT Response M577A3 (XHRV-1)
Fictional/Fake Vehicles
David class Mobile Combat Suit
But this has tremendous ramifications for Pentagon policy (and the military-industrial complex), as there is no longer any incentive under the auspices of the Senate and the general public to maintain an enormous defense budget.
A good indication of that is the fate of modern US tanks: Like the M1 Abrams.
The iconic main battle tank dates back to 1978, almost 40 years from now!
The trusty old “battle taxi,” the M113, also quietly but steadily fell off the list, also with no real replacement; The Army today relies – also defined by the longest war experience the United States has faced since Vietnam – on wheeled vehicles: The Stryker Family, Hummer, and many MRAP/MPVs reflect the need for vehicles adapted to urban environments and asymmetric warfare.
Just as Russia and successor nations were left with tens of thousands of outdated and obsolete tanks and limited budgets, US Army/Navy ground assets must be seriously reduced together.
The M1A1/A2 Abrams and its variants remain in service while the older M1 joins the National Guard and replaces the earlier M60 and M48 that are still in inventory.
This process was accomplished in the early 2000s and this reduction concept could be further extended to other AFVs. The old organizational structure must be changed.
Its traditional composition is that of the regular army along with the National Guard and Army Reserves.
With the Goldwater–Nichols Act of 1986, the command structure was simplified, under a simple pyramid from the President to unified combatant commanders in their own geographic/functional area of responsibility to fraudulently own all possible military assets.
In 2013 the regional command structure was also transformed, with headquarters at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, North and South headquarters at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, European Headquarters at Clay Kaserne, Wiesbaden, Germany, Pacific Headquarters at Fort Shafter , Hawaii and Africa Headquarters in Vicenza, Italy.
Basic units moved from division to brigade, and composition changed: As of 2014, Armor brigade, 4,743 strong, Stryker brigade, 4,500, and Infantry brigade, 4,413.
The Stryker Brigade is a highly mobile armored brigade also known as a Stryker brigade combat team or a motorized brigade equipped with an 8×8 vehicle as its backbone.
Equipped with General Dynamics LAV III, they can be airlifted worldwide within 48 hours.
The LAV-25 Stryker family is descended from the Swiss Mowag Piranha, through vehicles manufactured under Canadian license.
It has been delivered by thousands since the 1980s to the USMC and US Army and replaced since then by the Pirhana-III or Stryker M1120 derivative LAV-III.
Modern US tanks, AFVs and US Army assets
The US Army and Marines’ modern “war horse” is the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) or “Humvee”, which proved its extreme versatility and partly replaced the M113.
The Army’s iron fist is the M1A2 Abrams main battle tank, complemented by both the M2A3 and M3 Bradleys as standard infantry fighting vehicle and recce variant.
The current US Army standard wheeled M1120 Stryker APC/IFV (2000).
Derived from Canada’s LAV-III, the 4,187 is in service today, in many variants, including the 105mm M1128 Mobile Gun System.
Thirdly, the Stryker, and the M113 armored personnel carrier, make up the bulk of the APC force, well equipped today by a large fleet (25,000 as of 2007 to date) of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles from various manufacturers.
There are purchased for current assignments in line, with no long term plans.
Following the retirements of Afghanistan and Iraq, some 7,456 are now retired and in reserve while 8,585 remain active.
But future prospects suggest that a total of 5,036 of these will be kept, while the remainder (1,073) will be kept for training and active service only.
The newest MRAP is the Oshkosh M-ATV (5,681 vehicles estimated stored), a fine compromise between the poorly adapted Humvees and 20-tonne heavyweight 6×6 MRAPS like the Cougar and Buffalo.
Navistar MaxxPro Dash fleet counts 2,633 vehicles.
The heavy-duty Cougar, BAE Caiman, and MaxxPro await retirement and storage.
The US Army artillery force relies on two veterans, the M109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzer and the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) for the heavily mechanized unit.
Not a modern US tank, but a complement is the umbrella cover for the Army’s rotary wing aircraft fleet.
The rock star is the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, supplemented by the lighter OH-58D Kiowa Warrior (recce/light attack), UH-60 Black Hawk (utility/transport), CH-47 Chinook heavy lift transport.
The reduction plan requires 750 of them to remain active.
For air transportation, the Indonesian Air Force brings support with the C5 Galaxy, Hercules and C-17 Globemaster.
Marines rely mostly on the Huey Cobra variant, which is comprehensively upgraded.
HEMTT operators Perhaps the most common vehicles in service, which make up the bulk of the logistics assets, are the approximately 13,000 trucks, downgraded to various variants in 8×8 and 10×10 chassis.
Logistics is completely dependent on the Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT).
Dozens of available and armored types were introduced during the occupation of Iraq and in Afghanistan.
This highly versatile standard 8×8 all-terrain vehicle is produced by a unique manufacturer with military specifications: Oshkosh Truck Corporation.
AM General, MAN, and Pacific Car & Foundry (PACCAR) also submitted designs but were not retained.
Over 27,000+ newly built and re-manufactured vehicles are operational today.
Of course the Marine Infantry of yore, known only as “Marine” were specialists in naval amphibious operations and shouldered the brunt of the Pacific war, forging a legend.
But it was only recently that the USMC familiarized the press with the “marines in the desert” concept, in Iraq and Afghanistan, using the same range of AFVs the Army uses, and throughout 2003-2014 toured their duty in patrol, police, and training operations. in environments and with missions far from amphibious operations.
Budget cuts and reforms due to the end of the cold war seem to have eluded the USMC little.
Seen as a versatile and somewhat “cheaper” corps (less than a support ship), it was the first to also present a fully audited annual budget in 2013.
The main bases are Camp Pendleton on the west coast and Camp Lejeune on the east coast.
There is also a permanent base in the Pacific, at Camp Butler in Okinawa.
This is the main base associated with the expeditionary force but there are also 11 bases spread across the US mainland for backup.
But perhaps the “brain” of the entire building is Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia where most of the best training, research, and development takes place.
USMC M601 ERA at the Battle of Kuwait Airport, February 1991.
Military assets
Military assets supporting or in close coordination are diverse: the US Navy is of course, through the world’s largest amphibious force, strong of 6 large LHDs capable of sending entire brigades at sea with full jet air support (AV-8 harrier II) and all types of helicopters, for which the Apache is a substitute are the Marine Super Cobra and Viper attack models.
Some of these naval assets are fully amphibious such as the LCAC (Landing Craft Air Cushion) series, which can penetrate deep into the coast as opposed to older landing craft.
The USAF may also fly Marines through Air Mobility Command, but there is a special structure, the Air-Sealand Task Force.
The latter was made today of seven organic MEUs (Ocean Expeditionary Units) to USMC.
This vehicle comes from a long tradition that developed from the pacific war.
USMC tanks and AFVs
This goes back to the Pacific war when outside of the LVT fleet proper the M4 Sherman tanks for example that were defended by the USMC were always diesel powered.
Tank warfare of course during ww2 in the Pacific was reduced to the nature of the terrain and the dearth of Japanese tanks.
Marines also use special variants intensively such as flamethrower tanks.
This 1972 amphibious APC produced at least 1,690 vehicles.
During the cold war, particularly in Vietnam, the Marines played a sizeable role and used a wide variety of AFVs, including the LVTP-5 for coastal operations but also US Army vehicles such as the M48 Patton and M113 APC.
Today, the AAV-7 or Amphibious Assault Vehicle-7 (formerly LVTP-7) is the USMC’s primary amphibious APC, with more than 1,300 in service, including special C&C and recovery variants.
In the 1990 gulf war, actively deployed M60A1 and M1A1 Abrams.
The former were retired afterward, but 403 Abrams are still in service today, supported by 69 M88 ARVs. However, the most recent vehicles used were wheeled: Some 19,598 main A2 type and improved ECV type Humvees and many sub-variants, and the armored and multi-purpose OshKosh 6×6 MTVR (1998) trucks, both used for convoys in Iraq and Afghanistan (approximately 11,000 total for the Army and Marines).
The most important recent vehicle for the USMC is probably the 8×8 LAV-25 APC/IFV (8 variants, 778 in service).
Mobile “Artillery” support comes with the HIMARS High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.
In Iraq and in Afghanistan, the Marines also use all MRAPs extensively in service with the Army, without notable distinction.
US Army on Wikipedia
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US Army Modern Equipment
USMC AFV List
US Army official website
USMC official website
US Army AFV in 2015
M1A2/SEP Abrams Redundant in modern conflicts, the iconic US main battle tank exists only in its latest versions, the previous M1 (2,385), M1A1 (4,393), M1A2 decommissioned and stored.
Meanwhile, 1,174 M1A2/M1A2 SEP will be actively operating.
The M1128 Mobile Gun System is the latest Stryker based vehicle in service with the US military.
Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV).
Entering service in 2008, approximately 240 of these M1-based Combat Engineering Vehicles (CEVs) have been produced.
MRAP: Available in 4×4 and 6×6, this 15 tonne MRAP was produced from 2002 by Force Protection Industries to 1,317 vehicles.
Caiman: 2868 of this heavy MRAP manufactured by BAE Systems (2007).
International MaxxPro: Over 9,000 MRAPs were produced by International Truck/Plasan but 5,214 remain in service.
Available in 13 – 14 ton variants.
And the heaviest of all, the mighty Buffalo (20 tons) (illustration) which incidentally is an MPV plus mine disposable vehicles.
This M2 Bradley IFV is a staple of the US Armored division today: 6230 are in active service, more than any other tracked AFV.
M3 Bradley Special recce version: 500 in service so far.
America’s newest APC Humvee to date: It was meant to replace the Jeep.
Nevertheless, the HMMV has a wealth of versatility unlike any other US Army vehicle thus far: 27 main variants and many more sub-variants.
In total, about 240 to 260,000 are in operation today, but many will be available on the market soon (military exports, then civilian) as they are slated to be replaced by the Oshkosh L-ATV.
Light Strike Vehicle An interesting half-dune buggy half-dragster half-dune concept developed during the gulf war for special operations, completely uncoated and reduced to a motorized frame to be light, and indeed fast: 130 overall and 110 kph off-road.
Basically, this vehicle trades speed for protection.
The famous cold war M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzer was the mainstay of motorized artillery support.
Only 950 remain in US service.
The MLRS M270 Multiple Rocket Launcher NATO standard of the 1980s-1990s, is capable of delivering a wide range of vectors, from 20 km range rockets to 120 km range missiles, thanks to a modular launcher.
Over 1,300 produced so far, 930 still in service with the US Army.
Additionally, approximately 340 M142 long-range tactical missile launch systems are based on standard Army Medium Tactical Vehicle (MTV) trucks.
M1117 ASV Standard recce and multipurpose 4×4 armored car reminiscent of the Vietnam-era CGC M706, but in fact well modernized (1999) by Textron Marine & Land Systems vehicles and also influenced by the European VAB.
2,777 are operational today.
Oshkosh L-ATV By all means the actual -partially- designated successor of the legendary Hummer, if the outcome of the US military’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) contract is confirmed as of today.
It is designed for asymmetrical warfare and is much better protected than a Humvee but also much faster than a regular MRAP. 16,900 are operational today but 50,000 and more are planned for the next twenty years.
Oshkosh M-ATV Heavier version (2009), with an emphasis on mine explosion protection (MRAP).
5,500 are currently in service.
RG Vehicles Purchased in South Africa, due to early experience with mine protected and ambush vehicles.
The RG-31 Flame was derived from the Mamba APC (1995), and 595 were in service with the US Army (1,400 with USMC).
Well proven in combat in Iraq.
The much heavier RG-33 (2006) was based on the first, but was lengthened.
1,167 are in service with the US Army and USMC.
SPAAML Three types of SPAAML are maintained in service today with the US Army: The Avenger missile system, based on the Hummer (short range) about 800 in service, the MIM-104 truck with Patriot long range (about 1,100 in service), while the only SPAAG serving Defended is a trailer-truck-based C-RAM, carrying the impressive Phalanx system, capable of destroying missiles at close range.
USMC Buffalo MRAP in Iraq, 2005, in the usual sand beige color.
Buffalo MRAP in Green livery.
Buffalo MRAP in Iraq with camouflage livery and cage guard, 2010s.
The initial vehicle used for the TAPV contest
Croatian vehicle
Latest modern tanks