Army’s New Humvee Made From Foam, Balsa

Starting on Tuesday, the US Army will begin testing a Humvee made from a combination of fiberglass, balsa wood, foam, and carbon reinforcements that is supposedly 900 pounds lighter than current versions of the vehicle. According to the Humvee’s developers, each pound of weight that is saved is “being added back to the vehicle in armor and mine-blast protection.” So, theoretically speaking, these balsa humvees should be better equipped to protect soldiers from roadside bombs – the no.1 killer of US soldiers in Iraq.

And if you were wondering, it’s not powered by rubber bands. � Sean Fallon

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