Humvee manufacturing in China

A Dongfeng (lit. "Eastwind") EQ2050 at the Manila International Auto Show 2013.

There are at least three Chinese automobile manufacturers building Humvee copies. Two of the Humvee copies rely heavily on copied U.S.-made parts including chassis, gear box, and diesel engine in the past.^[1] Currently, these companies have the capability of making indigenous parts for these Humvee-like vehicles.

Variants

Dongfeng EQ2050

Dongfeng EQ2050 in exhibition

During the 1988 Beijing Defence Exhibition, AM General presented a M998 4x4 to the People's Liberation Army.^[2] The PLA didn't show much interest to the vehicle before the events of Operation Desert Storm, which made them interested in studying the vehicle.^[2] The Chinese petroleum industry purchased Hummers through American commercial sources in the mid-1990s.^[2] This provided the Chinese auto makers with an opportunity to examine the vehicle closely and provided an opportunity for reverse engineering.^[3] Later in 2003, the EQ2050 made its debut in a car show after a prototype was made in 2002.^[2] The vehicle became the preferred candidate in 2004 with 57 vehicles sent to the PLA for trials from 2004 to 2006.^[4] The first 100 EQ2050s were made with American-made parts.^[3] It passed design trials in 2006.^[4] EQ2050s were then delivered to PLA special forces unit in the Guangzhou Military Region.^[5] It's known as Mengshi in Chinese.^[1]

The EQ2050 is based on an imported AM General Hummer H1 chassis.^[1] The DFM EQ2050 is powered by a Dongfeng license-built Cummins EQB150-20 110 kW/2,700R turbo-charged diesel, but it can also be fitted with the U.S.-made V8 diesel originally designed for Humvee.^[1][3] Both vehicles have a 5-speed gear box and a 2-speed transfer box.^[6] They are both four-wheel drive with independent suspensions and central inflating system. The EQ2050 also has re-designed lights and radiator to make it look different from the original Humvee. DFM has cooperated with AM General Motors on getting American-made parts for the first EQ2050s made.^[5]

A variant of the EQ2050 called the EQ2058 was made for military purposes, which has an armored body.^[2] A civilian version of the EQ2050 is being made by DFM, which will use petrol engines instead of diesel engines.^[7]

While the EQ2050 was adopted by the PLA, it was also adopted by People's Armed Police Fire Fighting brigades^[8] and by Chinese Public Security Police forces.^[3][9] It is called the Hanma, an approximation of the Chinese pronunciation of Hummer.

Shenyang Aircraft Corporation SFQ2040

In 2002, Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) revealed its own Humvee clone known as SFQ2040 LieYing (Falcon).^[2][4][10] The missile system, mounted on an SAC SFQ2040, is similar to the U.S. Army HMMWV-mounted Avenger air defense system.^[11] SAC also emphasizes the low cost of its SFQ2040 with the price being one-third of the U.S.-made Humvee.^[12] A few working prototypes were made from 2002 to 2003.^[12]

Unlike the steel body EQ2050, the SAC SFQ2040 has an aluminum alloy body, making it much lighter than the former.^[12] It uses a Cummins 4BTAA-92 turbodiesel engine.^[12] SAC lost out to DFM, which resulted in an attempt to create a civilian version of the SFQ2040, but it never went into production.^[12] Both vehicles have limited armor protection against small caliber weapons. The vehicles can be fitted with additional equipment such as air conditioning, GPS, night vision equipment, vehicle-mounted radio, electric winch, and multipurpose weapon mount.

Xiaolong XL2060

A third Humvee clone is the XL2060L Fierce Dragon from Xiaolong Automotive Technologies Co., Ltd.^[13][14] XAT publicly rolled out the vehicles from its production lines on October 2008.^[15] Trials are being conducted by the PLA in remote areas such as Tibet.^[5][16]

The XL2060 was influenced from the Humvee and the Unimog.^[15] A civilian version is currently being made by XAT.^[5]

Operators

•  Bangladesh - Bangladesh Army infantry uses Dongfeng EQ2050s.^[17]
•  Belarus - 22 Dongfeng EQ2058s donated for use by Belarusian Special Forces units.^[18][19] Delivered under an act of gratuitous transfer of military assistance signed by Belarus and China on June 19, 2012 and have made public appearances on its independence day parade.^[20]
•  China - Dongfeng EQ2050s in service with the People's Liberation Army.^[21] Also in use by People's Armed Police Fire Fighting brigades^[8] and by Public Security Police forces.^[3][9]
•  Turkmenistan^[17]
•  Venezuela^[17]
•  Zimbabwe – Dongfeng EQ2050s used by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces with 100 EQ2050s bought in 2004 with more bought in 2007.^[22] 300 EQ2050s in service with the ZDF.^[10]

Potential operators

•  Namibia - In 2013, the Namibia Defence Force was evaluating CS/VA1 Light Strike Vehicles for possible purchase.^[23] Namibia ended up choosing the Agrale Marruá.^[24]

See also

• Humvee

References

External links

• Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) Falcon, the other ‘Hummer’ from China
• Xiaolongauto official page

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