Maybe the track version is meant to be used only rarely, when the vehicle is truly stuck. So you’re either wasting time digging yourself out with a shovel and saving on maintenance, or you switch to tracks to get out of the ditch and then perform maintenance right after you get back to the base. So long as maintenance is not deferred it seems preferable to do the latter.
I would think this will need way more maintenance than a regular wheel/tyre combination even if only used in the ‘round’ configuration.
I also worry about what a hand grenade or small IED will do to this contraption, compared to what it will do to a conventional tyre. Even if it is as strong, it likely still will increase mean time between repairs, as, when one breaks down, it’s more likely that one will have a regular tyre at hand than that one has one of these.
This. Humvees are probably just what's readily available as a test platform.
If such a wheel/track is ever used for real, it might be on something very different, and not on the front lines. And possibly larger or smaller than this.
Maybe the track version is meant to be used only rarely, when the vehicle is truly stuck. So you’re either wasting time digging yourself out with a shovel and saving on maintenance, or you switch to tracks to get out of the ditch and then perform maintenance right after you get back to the base. So long as maintenance is not deferred it seems preferable to do the latter.