Light Utility Vehicle

A military light utility vehicle is a small, -like four-wheel drive vehicle designed for military use. They are usually short and relatively light compared to other trucks and cars, are unarmored and have short body overhangs for all-terrain mobility and at least 4 passenger capacity.

Civilian adaptations of the Willys MB Jeep and Land Rover were the first sport utility vehicles, and some SUVs such as the Chevy Blazer have been used as military light utility vehicles.

The importance of this class of military vehicle was summed up by General Dwight Eisenhower, who said that the jeep was among the six most important US vehicles in World War II with the remainder being the C-47 Skytrain, the bulldozer, the Landing Ship, Tank, the Grumman J2F Duck, and the 2½-ton 6x6 truck. Similar vehicles are among the most common military vehicles in armies of most nations.

The Willys MB Jeep of World War II used by the U.S. Army is perhaps the most widely known vehicle of this class. Over 640,000 Jeeps were built for World War II, and they inspired many vehicles similar in layout, or function. The M38A1 Jeep was used in the Korean War. It was followed by the M151, which was designed with Ford. By the mid-1980s, this role would be taken over by the larger Humvee, which would be used as a combat vehicle in Iraq. The United States also purchased Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicles based on commercially available light trucks. U.S. forces are currently defining the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle which would be designed to be armored from the outset, with the smallest 4-person payload capacity class corresponding to the traditional jeep role.

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