AM General LLC, South Bend, Indiana, was awarded a $10,629,644 firm-fixed-price contract for heating, ventilation, air conditioning systems and power inverter kits to upgrade the M997A3 tactical humvee ambulance. The M997A3 tactical High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV or Humvee) ambulance is being built for use by the US Army National Guard (ARNG) in homeland defence and natural disaster relief operations. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 6, 2022. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity.
The M997A3 is built on an upgraded M997 ambulance box mounted on a modified M1152A1 chassis. It is intended to transport casualties from the theatre to the medical aid stations. Rugged and resilient, the HMMWV M997A3 (Humvee 2-CT Ambulance) is equipped with advanced armor protection. These combat ambulances were built to reliably transport casualities from the battlefield to medical aid stations. The new M997A3 tactical ambulances are set to supplement or replace the Army National Guard’s existing M996 two-litter and M997 four-litter models. Capable of transporting up to four litter patients, eight ambulatory patients—or a combination of both.
The ambulance can be heated, ventilated or air conditioned, depending on environmental conditions. For operation in a nuclear, biological or chemical (NBC) environment, the Ambulance can be equipped with a Gas-Particulate Filter Unit (GPFU) with heaters capable of supporting up to seven personnel equipped with either M25 series protective masks or M13 series patient-protective masks. The GPFU sends temperature-controlled, filtered air to individual face masks, increasing protection, making breathing easier and reducing stress and heat fatigue during extended periods of NBC operation.
AM General is an American heavy vehicle and contract automotive manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. It is best known for the civilian Hummer and the military Humvee that are assembled in Mishawaka, Indiana. In 1908, John North Willys purchased the Overland company, then based in Indianapolis, Indiana, and renamed it Willys-Overland Motors. In the 1940s, it collaborated with Ford and developed a vehicle to US Army specifications and later mass-produced “America’s first four-wheel drive one-fourth-ton tactical utility truck”—the Jeep of World War II fame. In 1953, Kaiser Motors purchased Willys-Overland, changing its name to first to Kaiser-Willys Motor Company and Kaiser-Jeep Corporation in 1963. In 1970, it was purchased by American Motors Corporation (AMC).
