British Army units are expected to take delivery of new Lightweight Recovery Vehicles as part of the UK Ministry of Defence’s 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 Army units in Tern Hill and Leuchars will receive their first vehicles.

Later this year, the British Army will receive two further Supacat LWRV vehicles to fulfil a need for off-road capability in harsh environments like those encountered during Operation Newcombe in Mali, Africa.

Brigadier Matt Wilkinson, Vehicle Support Team Leader at DE&S, said the announcement of the Lightweight Recovery Variant reaching IOC is the product of a 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.”

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 third axle to provide the recovery module and configure the 4x4 Jackal 2 as the 6x6 Coyote. The LWRV solution incorporates Supacat's patented Supalift recovery system technology, enabling the recovery of both the Foxhound and HMT platforms.

Describing the Supalift technology as groundbreaking, Phil Applegarth, director and head of Supacat said it significantly extends the lifting capacity of light vehicle recovery systems for the Army.

 “The 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.”