Saleem Shahzad of Asia Times Online reports that an order has been placed by the US Army for about 1000 military grade high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles Humvees at Heavy Industries Unit in Taxilla, Pakistan. The report does voice a concern to say that this new influx of military business is a worrisome understanding between America and Pakistan of a “a new and dangerous level“, but in all honesty I see it as a much needed influx of investment into our failing economy which might actually help bolster the foreign reserves and have an important side benefit of the much coveted ‘transfer of technology’. It must be noted that the report has not been fully confirmed by the ISPR spokesperson Major General Athar Abbass, but whatever be the situation it should be important to keep an eye on this development
[MiniLinks] Humvees being built in Taxila
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13 responses to “[MiniLinks] Humvees being built in Taxila”
It’s good to hear such stuff, Pakistan will have it’s influx of money and US will save on shipping and labour costs.
hmmmm but why would they need a 1000 hummers on this side???
it could have a very serious motive as well…
Look at videos in News, Pakistani soldiers drive Toyota jeeps mounted with machine guns…lol
I haven’t seen a Humvee yet. But I think it is possible that US might transfer the technology to Pakistan. If this happens, then it’s good news.
@ Nakodari, right after the 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan, when the world saw images of Taliban riding around in Toyota HIlux pickups (mostly stolen from Pakistan of course!), Toyota had to issue statements in its defense claiming that they never provided any vehicular support to the Tallies. Yet they still pointed out the fact that these pickups were still drivable after having been shot and bombed to hell was a testament to their ruggedness. Point being Toyota 4wd vehicles are damn near indestructible. Us offroad types have known this for a while ;).
we have already gone too far to please our masters and i believe that it is extremly difficult if not impossible to get rid of this deadly trap.
i agree with the notion that we can have some benefits for our ailing economy.
transfer of technology? i have a doubt in it.
the good news is that the americans are not going.
“ham to doobay hen sanam tum ko bhee le doobaen gay.
hahahahahahahhahahahahhaahhahahah
Now we are becoming indeginous in making arms to kill our people.These tanks are surely made to escalate war in our tribal areas and then towards Iran,Our army new motto is
crush Pakistanis with made in Pakistan products.this way US hate environment might be reduced that all times double when our people find US arms fallen in our areas.
@nazia
Totally agree. This is not a blessing. If the report is true, there is no question they will be used to kill our own….If this is the kind of “influx of investment” we need to save “our failing economy” then I say the economy be damned.
@Madman
Check some facts before saying. Seriously!
Humvees cannot be destroyed by some ordinary RPG rocket launcher, while these Toyota 4w cars can be destroyed by one powerful Grenade. So think before you speak.
Humvee cost a million dollars, Toyota vehicles cost some lakh rupees.
Never mind, if you think they are solid, you should buy this vehicle then and ask your friends to fire a RPG rocket at your vehicle. You will see the results 🙂
I will hope the results come out to be good.
@Nakodari
While I agree that the Humvee is military issue and grade, other than providing rudimentary protection from small arms fire, it has failed in providing adequate protection from RPG’s and land mines, an issue which was raised a little while back in US media reports. American soldiers actually went so far as to leave the humvee and walk on foot along side it rather than be a target.
As far as the humvee’s protective capabilities are concerned they are highly overrated.
As for the toyotas, lets be real now, its nothing more than an extremely hardy, easy to use, rough terrain vehicle private vehicle.
It is by far one of the most rugged vehicles avaialable to the public perhaps asides from the old land rovers and jeeps, but infinitely more accessible.
well i had heard about US interested in buying our tanks…
please don’t spread and give terrorist another reason to blow up poor workers like they did in WAH
This news is FALSE. There is no order from US Forces.
The Berry Act restricts the procurement of US military tenders from being fulfilled by non-Americans. These cars, if we believe they are even being produced, are almost certainly being produced for the Afghani forces. NOT AMERICAN.
P.S. Shame on Pakistani journalists for touting half-baked lies as stories. Journalism in Pakistan is in a sad state of affairs.
Symbolism of these vehicles is very strong and not always in a positive sense. Legally it is not a weapons system, although it is capable of carrying them.
If Pakistan could obtain the rights to manufacture a civilian version for regional export, it would be a huge foreign exchange earner. Also the ability to service and rebuild these vehicles could employ many people. Military versions could also be built for regional export.
The performance advantage these vehicles enjoy is being able to operate in water that is deeper than any other regularly configured vehicle. Even with snorkels, the civilian versions cannot go in water that is as deep as the military versions because the civilian versions have more electronics.
Prices for civilian versions are roughly 8,000,000 PKR without anti-ballistic protection added. Older used versions can be found for about 2,000,000 PKR.
The Toyotas and Jeeps are based on the old American Bantam, whereas the HMV is a newer design that exceeds the carrying capacity, reliability and traction of Bantam-inspired models.
Land Rovers earned the distinction of being the most unreliable vehicle mass marketed in the U.S. last year. Land Rover being bought by India’s Tata Motors may not immediately change that situation. What all these vehicles share, along with the over-priced Mercedes G7, is a fully locking differential.
Whereas the HMV will have some commercial and civilian-government uses in Pakistan (particularly in the Northern Areas), its potential for foreign exchange earnings is its major attractiveness. A question for Pakistan is how many of the parts can be supplied locally.