AM General’s 250-hp Next Generation HUMVEE Leads AUSA 2026 Lineup

AM General will show the first phase of its next generation HUMVEE, a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle A2 (JLTV A2) armed with Rafael’s SAMSON 30mm remote weapon station (RWS) and Iron Wasp interceptor drones, and a drone-carrying autonomous Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) at the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C., from October 12 to 14, 2026. The South Bend, Indiana, company announced the lineup on October 9 and said phase one production of the redesigned HUMVEE is planned for late 2027.

The show comes as AM General’s two light tactical vehicle franchises diverge. The Army said in 2025 it would pivot from the JLTV toward the Infantry Squad Vehicle and requested no JLTV procurement funds for fiscal 2027, yet it keeps buying High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV): on August 13, 2026, it awarded AM General an $82.2 million indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract with a cumulative face value of $754.6 million through August 31, 2028. The JLTV A2, ordered under a February 9, 2023, follow-on contract for up to 20,682 vehicles and 9,883 trailers, faces congressional pressure over delivery delays.

Next Generation HUMVEE Phase One: New CRDI Powerpack and Long-Travel Suspension

Phase one of the three-phase modernization brings a redesigned front end, with a new hood and grille sized for the upgraded powertrain, and a long-travel suspension intended to improve mobility and durability in rough terrain. Later phases are slated to add better crew ergonomics, a digital cockpit with a new vehicle electronics architecture, and autonomous and optionally manned capabilities.

The core change is a Common Rail Direct Injection (CRDI) diesel producing 250 horsepower and more than 500 lb-ft of torque, coupled to a six-speed automatic transmission. Publicly available specifications rate the 6.5-liter turbodiesel V8 in current M1151 and M1165 variants at about 190 horsepower and 380 lb-ft, which implies gains of roughly 30 percent in both. That margin matters on a platform whose armored variants have long run close to their weight limits once protection kits, weapon stations, and radios are added.

AM General is installing the same powerpack across several programs, including the UGV and the HUMVEE Hawkeye 105mm Mobile Howitzer System, which Kosovo ordered in December 2025 as its first customer. Wide-ratio gearing and an electronic range selector simplify left- or right-hand-drive installations, a clear signal of export intent. The company has not disclosed displacement, gross vehicle weight, payload, or protection levels.

JLTV A2 Integrates SAMSON 30mm RWS and Iron Wasp Counter-UAS Interceptor

The JLTV A2 on display carries two systems from Rafael Systems Global Sustainment (RSGS), the U.S. subsidiary of Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. The SAMSON 30mm RWS belongs to a family fitted to thousands of tracked and wheeled vehicles worldwide. AM General did not name the cannon; Rafael has offered light-vehicle SAMSON configurations with the 30x113mm M230LF, while its heavier SAMSON Integrated turret mounts the 30x173mm Mk44S.

Iron Wasp, introduced by Rafael and SpearUAV in June 2026, is a canister-launched interceptor drone derived from SpearUAV’s Viper I. Fired from a compact multi-canister launcher, it is designed to defeat drones and loitering munitions with the vehicle stationary or on the move, cued by onboard or stand-alone sensors. Open-source descriptions point to radar cueing at launch and an electro-optical seeker with machine vision for terminal guidance, a hard-kill method that does not rely on jamming and therefore stays relevant against fiber-optic-guided drones.

AM General says the A2 is being delivered to the Army and lists a new powertrain, added corrosion control, and a quieter cabin among its improvements over the Oshkosh-built A1. A June 12, 2026, letter from Senator Tammy Baldwin to Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll stated that no production-standard A2 had been accepted despite nearly $2 billion obligated; AM General maintains it has delivered vehicles since late 2025.

AM General UGV Carries XTEND Nest Launch Pod for Forward Drone Operations

AM General introduced the UGV at AUSA Global Force in Huntsville, Alabama, on March 24, 2026, as a logistics vehicle developed with Carnegie Robotics, which supplies the autonomy software, and Textron Systems, which provides the control layer. It features a reconfigurable cargo deck, a wireless remote-controlled T-boom crane, and the new common powertrain.

At AUSA, the UGV is configured as a drone carrier with XTEND’s Nest, a mobile launch pod running XOS, the company’s operating system for physical AI. The vehicle moves the aerial system forward and opens a launch point closer to the objective, keeping soldiers out of exposed positions. The display carries XTEND’s gesture-controlled Scorpio 1000, intended for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and precision missions in complex or GPS-denied environments. XTEND began trading on the New York Stock Exchange as XTEND AI Robotics on September 4, 2026. AM General has released no speed, range, endurance, or payload data for the UGV.

Analysis: The common CRDI powerpack is the thread running through the stand. Standardizing one engine and transmission across the HUMVEE, the Hawkeye howitzer, and the UGV gives AM General a light-vehicle family it controls end to end, at a time when the JLTV, the program meant to anchor its future, has lost Army procurement funding and faces a possible Marine Corps second source. The HUMVEE, still ordered by the Army and widely exported, is the hedge. Partner-supplied weapons and drones make the vehicles relevant to the counter-drone fight, but they do not answer the question customers are asking: whether the South Bend line can deliver JLTV A2s at rate.

AM General expects to reach full JLTV A2 production capacity in early 2027. Before then, Congress must finalize the Marine Corps’ fiscal 2027 JLTV funding, which House appropriators proposed cutting by $133 million from a $245 million request, and the Marine Corps must decide how to act on its May 27, 2026, request for information on a second supplier. Whether the Army funds the modernized HUMVEE before phase one production begins remains open.