SlashGear

Lets start by making a list of things you wouldn’t want in any vehicle for the military, we’ll start with packing materials, including foam, then lets go to wood, most specifically Balsa, which is quite possibly the weakest wood there is, right, that’s a good start no? Wrong. Guess what the new Humvees have in them?

Fiberglass, Balsa wood, foam, and carbon, all of which, put in the right places, causes the original Humvee to shed about 900 pounds of excess weight. That doesn’t mean that the new Humvees are 900 pounds lighter, no all that weight was added back on in armor and mine blast protection.

Those two enhancements should better protect our soldiers from roadside bombs, which are currently the number one cause of death for US soldiers in Iraq. Hopefully this tactic, and this vehicle will work in their attempts to better protect the soldiers that are fighting in Iraq.

Army’s New Humvee Made From Foam, Balsa [via GearFuse]