This is a piece by Bryan Ferreira of Warriors, a Portuguese online tactical magazine on the Portuguese Commando Assault Vehicle.
In the world of Elite Commando Units there are hundreds of light assault vehicles. Land Rover is one the most prominent builders in this area, since the famous Special Air Service (SAS) pink panthers of 50’s, to today’s Australian SAS 6×6 desert patrol vehicles and the pictured Portuguese Commandos, Commando Assault Vehicle (CAV). The CAV are presently deployed in Central African Republic in the UN MINUSCA mission and their multitask capabilities are a must have for any unit.
Afghanistan’s operations changed the role and usage of this kind of vehicles as the war demanded for more heavy armor to defeat the IED (improved explosive device) threat. They were put aside and replaced for MRAP and APC vehicles. But with terrorism spreading all over Africa, the presence of small detachments of Elite Forces in so many places needs to be supported with vehicles that not only permit high mobility, range and firepower, but that can be easily airborne and relocated where they are most needed. They also have the big advantage of being relatively cheap, so abandoning and destroying them isn’t that uncommon in Special Operations. The CAV is a Land Rover 130 TD4 all-wheel drive and it only has light armor in the floor to give some protection against small explosive devices, what allows it to go to speeds of up to 145km/h (90miles/h). It takes a crew of 5+1, with 4 swing arms for the passengers (3 to the sides and one rewards) and a central 360° rotating ring mount. This permits them to have a wide range of weapons to employ in these vehicles. In the passengers mounts they use either the HK (Heckler & Koch) Mg4 in 5,56x45mm or the Rheinmetall Mg3 in 7,62x51mm. In the central rotating mount they will use the MG3, the Browning M2 (12,7x99mm) or even the HK GMG 40x53mm Automatic grenade Launcher. They usually carry additional firepower, the famous 84mm Carl-Gustaf recoilless rifle, which is one of the most versatile rocket launchers in the market, and a 60mm lightweight handheld mortar.
The CAV can be used as an assault vehicle but it will also perform very well as Long Range Reconnaissance asset. Either in an Airport Airborne assault as in the hunt for enemy insurgents, this is one Commando lethal vehicle.
Does anyone know with the demise of the Defender Commercial line, what was it last year or the year before, what is now the replacement? Is Land Rover still producing for the military market? Are the Aussies still producing the Defender in their plant? Are we only left with G wagon and Jeep variants of this concept to choose from?
I believe the Defender name is to be resurrected in 2019, but is planned to be some type of uni-body chassis, NOT the traditional body bolted to a ladder-frame. This would seem to reduce or eliminate a lot of the bolt-on modularity historically seen in old Land-Rover “Series” and Defender industrial and military platforms.
There is a lot of nail-chewing anticipation by LR enthusiasts, but the best estimates I’ve read are that LR is going to focus on the “gucci” market with only “feature” heavy/high profit, “lifestyle”, vehicles, esp for the North American market. I hope that proves not to be the case, but we shall see.
I’m one of those nail-chewers, they showed off the prototype a more than a few years ago and it got a horrendous public response, since then they went back to the drawing boards and supposedly were going to give it a good think. Final production form is supposed to be shown at Land Rover’s 70th anniversary, this year, and it should go on sale in 2019.
Jankel vehicles and Jackals have replaced a lot of the Land Rovers in the UKSF
No Australia has the G Wagon now as well.
Everyone I’ve had the (mis)fortune of working with the Defender all said it was a piece of crap. The ADF version had to have the original engines swapped out for a torque-ier and more durable Isuzu turbo diesel.
That said having sat in the GWagens they have all the creature comforts the Defender never had (air-conditioning, automatic transmission without compromising offroad capability for starters) but the usable interior space is so much less for a vehicle that dwarfs the Defender when parked side by side.
Everyone I’ve spoken to and have had the (mis)fortune…**
Ate a few words there.
Working on the RR line a lot, as in the commercial side of these luxury “off road” vehichles I sure hope the military end has a far better track record for dependability?!
The Defender line is pretty cool but be prepared to dish out huge amounts of cash for one. I have seen them listed at $150K! Last ones went off the production line in 2016.
The Range Rover’s in my opinion suck. Who in their right mind pays over $100K for full white leather interior then goes out mudding?? Big status symbols and really bad reliability.
The Portuguese’s long and illustrious military escapades …. oh wait no … the SADF had to bail them out in both Angola and Mozambique.
Now the Portuguese Commandos (LOL) play Peacekeepers ….
Bail them out?
Portugal withdrew from both countries after their government was overthrown in a leftist coup in 1974. SADF did minimal intervention along Angola’s borders prior, this was because they had a common enemy, SWAPO, that was fighting both governments in both countries. No bailing out was done while Portugal ran that country or that war, and yes they did it poorly at times, at times they had all bbut removed opposition. SADF intervention on a large scale happened much later on, when Portugal was gone.
Mozambique was almost all unilaterally Portugal, with some cross border incursions by Rhodesia, but none by the SADF while Portugal ran Mozambique as a colonial power. The ANC did have havens in Mozambique, but that was about a decade after Portugal left.
But this article is about Land Rovers, not your poor understanding of African bush wars.
I’m waiting for the witty rebuttal.
Plus let’s not forget that Portugal does have a long history of maritime exploration and military expansion. The Portuguese at one point had multiple colonies in South America, Africa and Asia that rivaled those from Spain, France and the UK in size (not withstanding Portugal is much smaller than any of these countries, which much less population).
Military history does include things that happened before the 20th century!
So it’s an RSOV?
The dream of the 90’s is alive in Portugal.