What Is The M88 Recovery Vehicle And And When Does The Military Use Them?

The M88 Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lifting Extraction System — also known as the HERCULES — is utilized by both the United States Army and Marine Corps. It's a beast of a full-tracked armored vehicle that weighs 70 tons, designed to help out every type of main battle tank when they need it. Got stuck in the mud? HERCULES is there. Damaged from combat and need a tow? Call in the M88. It was built with an A-frame winch that could pull turrets and engines that weighed up to 25 tons off the tank for maintenance. It also came with a dozer blade that was used to dig in and anchor itself while assisting a tank.

Early versions of the M88 could tow up to 56 tons, which was barely suitable for one of the best tanks ever made, the M1 Abrams. Every new iteration of the M1 weighed too much for the M88 because of depleted uranium armor rather than steel, requiring two M88s — the more recent M1A2SEPv3 weighs more than 73 tons — for a tow.

By the '90s, the Army and Marines started using the M88A2 with a 12 cylinder air-cooled diesel engine that pumped out 1050 horsepower, which could tow up to 80 tons and lift 35 tons with the winch — allowing them to use only one HERCULES to tow an Abrams. This was the version used throughout Operation Iraqi Freedom that ripped out the Saddam Hussein statue from its place in Baghdad. The military didn't stop at the A2, though.

The United States Army began testing the new M88A3 in 2024, which promises to have a superior tow and lift capacity compared to the A2. Its modernized powertrain, a Caterpillar C32 ACERT diesel engine, will pump out an additional 300 horsepower — bringing it up to 1,350 horsepower. This will help with its 80-ton tow capacity, but it will also be able to hoist 40 tons and carry 32 tons. It will also have a top speed of 35 miles per hour. 

BAE Systems is also adding a seventh road-wheel for more stability as well as hydro-pneumatic suspension units that will improve its cross-country and recovery abilities. The HERCULES itself will weigh a total of 78 tons.

The new M88 will have the ability to tow all modern tanks, including America's Bradley Fighting Vehicles, M1 series Abrams, Joint Assault Bridge, as well as other heavy vehicles. Its improved armor will better protect the crew if they have to recover a tank from a combat zone. Just like its previous iterations, the M88A3 will have room for a tank's crew along with its own driver, mechanic, and commander.