Ukraine update: The most important vehicle on the battlefield isn't a tank

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In a sea of tanks, armored personal carriers (APC), infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), armored fighting vehicles (AFV), Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles, it can be easy to overlook the vehicles that are most often responsible for getting soldiers where they need to be on the battlefield — Infantry Mobility Vehicles. Also known as Jeeps.

Well, not actually Jeeps. But these are the vehicles that serve the role somewhere between Willy’s Jeeps and the 6×6 truck “Jimmy” trucks that were workhorses of U.S. forces in World War II. They get soldiers from bases to units a lot faster and more reliably than a lumbering APC. They deliver critical spare parts to where they’re needed. They patrol towns and villages behind the front lines. Depending on the level of armor and equipment, they can even become surprisingly involved in combat.

When Russia invaded, there were already a number of vehicles serving this role in Ukraine. That included the home grown Kozak-2 and Novator,  and one that might be surprising — American Humvees. 

When the U.S. announced it’s latest package of assistance, it included 200 more Humvees. This may have seemed like another of those “we’re only adding to the complexity of their supply chain” moments, but Ukraine already had about 350 Humvees playing various roles in their military. The reason that Humvees are showing up in some of the images of vehicles destroyed in Mariupol and eastern Ukraine is not because these are vehicles that rolled off the plane outside Lviv and somehow drove through Russian lines to reach the Azovstal plant. It’s because these are what Ukraine was using already.

It’s also one of their principle needs. Missiles, drones, planes, and tanks may all get more press, but IFVs are almost as central to a functional army as food and ammo. When you look at those videos of the Russian military rolling down the road, and see a huge variety of poorly-maintained, cobbled-together vehicles serving in this role, that’s one of the best signs that the Russian military has enormous issues. When it comes to an actual light armored infantry mobility vehicle Russia has both tens of thousands and almost none. The GAZ Tigr and Iveco LMV theoretically fill this role, but the later has been quite a rare sighting in Ukraine. 80 GAZ Tigr are know dead.

18 Humvees of various configurations are known dead on the Ukrainian side. Several of these seem to have been captured intact and deliberately burned by Russian forces (something they’ve done not just in Ukraine, but in other conflict zones) as a sign of their disdain for America. That’s a good reason to smile. That’s one tough, capable, reliable vehicle that’s not going into service for Vladimir Putin, and Russian forces are depriving themselves.

The level of armor and equipment on a Humvee, or any other light armored vehicle, can vary greatly. They can carry levels of armor that will protect against light machine guns and be beefed up to protect occupants against IEDs. They carry their own machine gun mounts, or launchers for anti-tank missiles.

Now Ukraine is getting a whole new variety of vehicles that are in, or close to, the same category as the Hummvee. On Wednesday, Canada announced they were sending along 8 Roshel Senators (which are based on a heavy duty Ford truck). Those common underpinnings may make this vehicle easier to maintain — but this is a brand new vehicle, so how it will perform in the field is unknown. (Roshel, and Canada, are surely interested in finding out.)

The U.K. is sending along the Husky, which is based on a vehicle by that other producer of hardcore American trucks (that you may never have heard of if you don’t live in the Midwest), Navistar International. The U.K. may be sending as many as 120, hopefully along with some mechanics and a good collection of spare parts. Though if these things are reliable as an old International pickup, expect them to come in for service around 2050.

Sure, these vehicles are definitely not tanks. They’re not flashy. They’re just vital. And they get used up quickly in any serious engagement, especially if they come into contact with a serious armored column.

When they’re reading the list of equipment on the way, drones may be exciting, long range artillery may be a relief, but you can bet the guys in the field are most relieved to see more IMVs on the way.