Pictured (left in both images) Supacat LWRV Vehicle towing an HMT vehicle
This week, Supacat and NP Aerospace will be delivering new Lightweight Recovery Vehicles to British Army units in Tern Hill and Leuchars as part of the UK Ministry of Defence Protected Mobility Engineering and Technical Support (PMETS) contract.
The Lightweight Recovery Vehicle (LWRV) designed by Supacat and NP Aerospace as engineering authority for PMETS have successfully reached Initial Operating Capability (IOC). They were presented to the Vehicle Support Team within DE&S at an event at Supacat facilities in Devon.
In June 2023, serving members from the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and Royal Irish Regiment received operational training on the vehicles, and this week they will receive their first vehicles. Later this year, the British Army will receive two further Supacat LWRV vehicles to fulfil their need for off-road capability in harsh environments like those encountered during Operation Newcombe in Mali, Africa.
LWRV has addressed the capability gap for a recovery vehicle with the off-road performance to follow the routes of the British Army’s High Mobility Transport (HMT) `Jackal` and `Coyote` vehicles, developed by Supacat. The solution utilises four in-service Jackal 2 vehicles with the addition of Supacat’s innovative ‘Extenda’ removable 3rd axle to provide the recovery module and configure the 4×4 Jackal 2 as the 6×6 `Coyote`. The LWRV solution incorporates Supacat’s patented ‘Supalift’ recovery system technology, enabling the recovery of both the Foxhound and HMT platforms.
Brigadier Matt Wilkinson, Vehicle Support Team Leader at DE&S, said: “The announcement of the Lightweight Recovery Variant reaching Initial Operating Capability is the product of fantastic collaboration between the British Army, Defence Equipment and Support, Supacat and NP Aerospace under the PMETS contract. We now have a Lightweight Recovery capability, which the British Army can exploit to inform the Army’s Future Soldier requirements for recovery vehicles.”
David Petheram, Managing Director & Senior Vice President, NP Aerospace, commented: The PMETS contract has run successfully for the last four years, delivering significant innovations that have benefited the British Army on operation. Achieving IOC is an important step in our lightweight recovery vehicle programme with Supacat and demonstrates our joint collaboration with industry partners for the benefit of the UK MOD.”
Phil Applegarth, Director and Head of Supacat, said: “We are thrilled to hand over new
LWRV vehicles to the British Army in partnership with NP Aerospace. This solution fills a crucial capability gap and showcases the HMT’s modularity as a highly adaptable vehicle that can accommodate various system integrations based on operational needs. The LWRV has been equipped with a ground-breaking technology called “Supalift,” which significantly extends the lifting capacity of light vehicle recovery systems for the Army.”