it's a great idea, but i wouldn't want to take that thing into combat at all. there are faster and more agile multi-purpose vehicles out there being proposed to the Military.

i think the J8 would be suited for border patrol, but there's no way a 50 cal would ever be mounted on it. current the border patrol uses modified Tahoes and Suburbans with the front bumper removed and a custom bumper installed to increase the angle better suited for off-road driving.

as much as i like the J8, i think it needs to be beefed up a bit before it ever sees combat. there is no way in h*ll that i would want to be in that thing when bullets are flying. i would rather be in a humvee that offers more protection, or one of the JLTV's that are hopefully coming out within the next half a decade

 

as much as i like the J8, i think it needs to be beefed up a bit before it ever sees combat. there is no way in h*ll that i would want to be in that thing when bullets are flying.

The article does state that it is not intended to be a combat vehicle. Although, the WW2 version gets high praise from IKE down to the GI's about how it helped win WW2.

Sometimes mobility is more important than armament and protection. I was reading the other day about how some of our service personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan don't like all the body armor they have to wear because it reduces their mobility.

Border patrol: how about a 20mm gatlin cannon)).

 

That Jeep has every after market accessory I could ever want!

 

Kaz, don't you think the Jerry Can on the side is a bit over the top though...

 

Jeep has been trying to do this for a few years. It's already had success selling similar models to other armed forces around the world. I'm guessing that's a .30 caliber MG on there, but if an old MB could handle a .30, I wouldn't be surprised if this could handle a .50. And don't forget an M38A1 was sometimes equipped with a tactical nuclear cannon. Unfortunately, the blast zone exceeded the firing range.

When we were kids, we loved "The Rat Patrol". This stirred up some fond memories.

 

lol on Rat Patrol, I drove those same Jeeps when I was in the Army, guess that ages me, lol. We generally had M60 (7.62mm, 308) machine guns mounted, not the M2 (50 cal) heavy barrel. The 50's are usually base camp defense, not squad weapons.

The name Jeep comes from old military slang for the vehicles, being they were General Purpose, or GP, which was slanged to be Jeep.

 

in my opinion the J8 needs to be beefed up before it ever should even be considered to enter combat. the Army has come a long way since the open-top Jeeps that used to be their work-horse in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.

however, i would be in favor of the J8 being used as a no-contact quick reconnaissance vehicle but i still think it needs more protection before it's ever given to the special forces. i know the scout vehicles used in Desert Storm had even less protection than the J8, but they were more agile.

i think the J8 is heading in the right direction, but it needs some improvements before the Army uses it for actual combat. it could at least replace the utility Humvees that are used around my base and other bases for transporting equipment etc. however, the Army won't replace these unless they have to due to cost reasons related to budget cuts

 

UMM...where do I get the .30 cal aftermarket addon for my Jeep

 

The classifieds in Military Vehicles Magazine. Unfortunately, you'll have to settle for a welded receiver One guy around here has one on his MB.

If you like military vehicles and/or need Jeep parts for CJ, XJ, YJ, TJ, JK. there's a great WWII Museum in Hubbard, OH and 4WD Hardware is about a 1/2 hour away in Columbiana, OH. A Jeep Junkyard is there as well. They do live firings of .50 calibers at the museum a few times a year. You can participate for a fee. It a museum fundraiser, but I haven't had the pleasure.

I've got a friend from many Jeep Jamborees who lives nearby and is sometimes able to get mud tires from the Denman Tire factory in Warren. They're the folks who manufacture Swampers and Buckshots. He as an "in" for employee pricing, but it's limited to 2 sets a year. My wife is from around there and I never complain about visiting her relatives. Actually when we go, I don't spend much time at the house at all, as you may have guessed.

 

It's about time!

 

is it just me, or does that look like a truck you would see a bunch of somali's or iraqi(anti-american) rolling around in.

i like it, but at the same time i dont. if there were to be a new Army Jeep, it would have to be less wrangler-ish and more cherokee/hummer-ish as far as design. there is just to much ordinance that would be able to penetrate a low armor vehicle like that ://

 

that's what i was trying to say...it looks too much like what the anti-american forces would be driving. it needs to be beefed up A LOT before it ever was to see combat since the soldiers are way too exposed.

what would be pretty cool would be a flight follower type of helmet that would control a 50 cal in the rear. you would have the driver controlling the vehicle, but the passenger would have the flight follower helmet and look at the target and the 50-cal would rotate to that target (similar to what they have on the Cobra attack helicopters).

i still would demand the J8 get beefed up before it ever saw combat...but if it played a supporting role on base i would be in favor of the current design

 

I wonder what milage would be in a full armored Jeep, 6 MPG maybe. No idea why anyone would want that for their vehicle unless in a war zone.

 

ask the H1 owners why they wanted to get 10 mpg average lol

 

I think something like that could definitely serve a role in the military. From my Army days, I recall our HMMWV's (both armored and soft tops) were often simply too large, too wide, or too heavy for a lot of terrain.

Not every mission requires an up armored 1114 or even a soft top HMMWV. When I served in the Balkans, our SF detachments routinely used Mitsubishi Monteros; I suspect because they were fast, quiet, maneuverable, and relatively inconspicuous. I served in a mech infantry unit and there were many times we had to modify our routes through town because our HMMWV's were too wide to get through streets or across bridges or were too heavy for eroding mountain roads. Our Bradleys were almost never fielded because of this.

I could definitely see the US Army having a need for a small, fast, and agile 4WD vehicle. If they're going to procure Monteros, why not consider a Jeep?

 

im not saying it couldnt be used for auxilary uses...but like that, its not much of a vehicle. and i agree that not all situations call for humvees, and i do know theyre are dune buggys and things of that sort in use by the army, but that simply looks like it would be pretty slow compared to anything else its size.

if the Army was looking for a light transport with light armor and good mobility, that could simply be a Wrangler or Unlimited with a few modifcations..this J8 would kinda be too heavy to be light, and too light to be heavy.

 

If I were taking a city, I say give me a tank, if I'm a fwd observer (if they even have those anymore) give me a jeep! Heck, drones are going to take over everything, so I guess it doesn't much matter anymore :-(

 

Hoosier,

What model year is your Grand?
My in-laws had a mid 90's with a 6 in it. They would get low 20's on the road most of the time.

 

It's a 4.0L 2003. Most of my driving is highway driving. Of course, if I wanted to drive like a bat out of jello, I could significantly reduce my MPG).

 

LMAO, I do not know why that's funny to me, but it is.:hammertime:

 

I think the J8 would be an excellent idea for use in the USA, it would free up our gas guzzling HMMWVs for deployment. Serving in the US the Jeep wouldn't need all the heavy armor that plagues our HMMWVs.

 

I can think of several uses for a military grade Wrangler folks. Too many of you are focusing on convoys! What about fire department command vehicles for places like Hill AFB Utah; Nevada; Afghanistan? What about Security Forces perimeter control? First Response Medical? Civil Engineering?

Being in the SOG I can tell you personally that we could find a use for this Jeep and apply it to almost every operation we use. Far too many people get caught up on what the media portrays war to be...convoys.

 

Interesting topic!

Out of curiosity I did some digging around. The Egyptians are buying J8's, for patrols and auxiliary purposes, and as another stated, it's about functionality and mobility. I drove an unarmored LMTV into Iraq in a convoy of soft-skinned HMMWVs. All the doors were even put in shipping containers before we left the U.S. since a canvas door won't do anything but get in the way! It's not all about heavy exuberantly-priced armored RPG magnets (or as the insurgents would say, 'magnetic force-shielded' when their wild shots miss!). Besides, wont' do them much good to attack a 50+ light vehicle convoy with hundreds of soldiers in body armor, armed with everything from rifles and hand grenades to .50 cal machine guns and 40mm automatic grenade launchers :wow: Besides, there was an armored concept, see the last video.
I found a couple videos in which we are told they could be ordered in the US with the Liberty's former 2.8L diesel, or a 5.7L HEMI. They are given some heavy duty equipment and a lift for heavy hauling off-highway:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beHF-9ZkMTI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lRtvZKUBHI

Also, enjoy and towards teh end (2:20) there is a armored J8: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7neyKDBR8IU

 

I just want to start by saying, I love Jeeps, and I know that Jeeps were first Military vehicles. However, the needs of the Military has changed and Jeep has not. Anyone who has seen modern combat knows that. If we would have shown up in Iraq and Afganistan with these jokes, our causality list would be ten times larger then it already is. To emphisize my point allow me to illistrate.
in 2003 we showed up in Iraq with standard HMMWV's

After the initail invasion we had to upgrade to our HMMWV's to counter the insergents

In a high number of cases those HMMWV were not offering enough protection so we brought in Dragoons

Those were older vehicles and needed replacing so the Stryker was introduced

The Rhino was specificly designed to take a land mine blast from direcly underneath protect the personnel inside.

Ok this may look cool but where does it fit in? I think this is just an attempt at Chrysler to land a fat Government Contract in order to stay afloat.

 

This is the Titan, a vehicle currently being researched by the Military to replace the HMMWV. If Chrysler could compete with this they may have a chance at the contract.

 

robi454, I agree, though even in the U.S. military, all are disposable.. we raised our hand saying we'd sacrifice our lives to complete our mission and to protect others. When the cost to keep us alive exceeds our value, which our government overall does seem to value its defenders greatly, that is when we have to make use of what is already available, including our minds.

 

You are correct. I am constantly being reminded how disposable I am. As a dog handler, one of my jobs is to sweep convoy routes on foot prior to the convoys heading out.

All I am saying is that after all the upgrading the military has done to protect its war fighters, I don't see us going backwards to the Jeep. Now it is quite possible that the jeep could be used back in the States to replace what we call the CCUTV's.(regular commercial vehicles used for light noncombat roles).

 

Now it is quite possible that the jeep could be used back in the States to replace what we call the CCUTV's.(regular commercial vehicles used for light noncombat roles).

possibly. on my army base all of the hauling is done by decommissioned Humvees or pickup trucks (F-150, Silverados, Dodge Rams, etc). i don't see the army going out and buying brand new Jeep J8's b/c they look cool. these decommissioned Humvees would need to break down. but, then they'll just get more decommissioned Humvees from theater and strip those down.

the Humvee is a work horse, and they don't just quit running. they keep running and running. the Army would need a legitimate justification for scrapping perfectly working vehicles to buy Jeep J8's.

 

Exactly my point. This is just an attempt from Chrysler to get some more government money. I deal with a lot of vehicles at work, Military and civilian specs, and other then the special purpose vehicles (HMMWV's, LMTV's, basicly vehicles made only for the military) and I know how much the government pays for them.

Take an F-350 Superduty. Whats the wholesale price tag on one if a private company were to pruchase ten of them? 40k maybe 50k, the govenment pays 60k to 80k when buying hundreds of them.

 

government overpays for EVERYTHING...except for hotels. gotta love the military per diem :smiley_thumbs_up:

 

They don't overpay me, that is for damn sure.

 

i 2nd that lol

 

i just don't see where the Jeel J8 will fit in. i know we love jeeps...but the fact is that most hauling / transportation jobs on base can be accomplished with pickup trucks (F-150's, Silverados, and Rams). anything too big to accomplish with these pickup trucks, that's where the decommissioned humvees come along. are they fuel efficient? nope. have they already paid for themselves in combat theater use? yep. will a Jeep J8 fleet be more expensive to purchase (even if it is more fuel efficient) than keeping around decommissioned humvees or continuing to decommission humvees from theater? of course it will be more expensive.

while i love the Jeep...i don't ever expect it to get back into military use again. it's a new type of warfare these days and our soldiers require a vehicle that's more robust than a jacked up Wrangler with bells and whistles. on the domestic front, there are already vehicles (and more vehicles in concept phases) that accomplish the Jeep J8's intended purpose much much better.

believe me, it's every current general's wet dream to be able to drive around in a Jeep on base. it's just not like the good old days anymore...