UK-based military contractor, Ricardo, has revealed its militarised Ford Ranger concept which it’s shopping around as a multi-role defence and security vehicle.
It’s military expo season and there are plenty of militarised vehicles being shown off to potential buyers, one is the Jeep Gladiator XMT which is hoping for the same sort of business as this militarised Ford Ranger by Ricardo.
The name might not mean a lot to us, but Ricardo has been producing military vehicles for some time and, in the UK is responsible for the WMIK light attack Land Rovers and the all-new Foxhound vehicles used by the British Army. The militarised Ford Ranger concept is intended to show off its potential as a general services vehicle.
The general service Ranger concept created by Ricardo, the company said, is intended to be available with a range of powertrain options, including Ford’s 2.0-litre Bi-turbo four-cylinder diesel engine.
Key features of the adaptation include a rollover protection system; a ring mounted weapon system, similar to that used on the WMIK; an armoured ballistic underfloor and armoured glass; lightweight but heavy-duty front and rear bumpers; skid plates for the radiator, powertrain and fuel tank; rock sliders and improved wading/fording protection (the standard Ranger offers 800mm and no details have been listed so we don’t know how much higher the water wading is); NATO IRR paint/camouflage and four-point seat harnesses. In addition, the 24V electrical system has been enhanced to provide the power requirements and EMC protection expected of modern defence vehicle applications, and the chassis can be equipped with upgraded springs, dampers, brakes, heavy-duty wheels and all-terrain tyres, offering greater ride height and improved towing capacity.
“Ricardo is pleased to have created this general service demonstrator based on the Ranger vehicle,” commented Paul Tarry, special vehicles director, Ricardo.
“The adaptation of existing and well-proven automotive platforms for defence roles provides an opportunity to deliver a robust, fit-for-purpose and highly cost-effective package that is easy to maintain, benefitting as it does from an established international supply chain of parts and service.
“However, it is also crucial in such adaptations to engineer a solution that meets the exacting requirements of the intended applications; even the most robust of commercially available vehicles is unlikely to meet this threshold without careful, role-specific adaptation of the type that Ricardo is ideally placed to provide. The militarized Ranger that Ricardo has created with the support of Polaris Government and Defense, thus demonstrates the flexibility of this robust and versatile platform – as developed, re-engineered and re-imagined to fulfil multiple defence roles in an effective and very cost-efficient manner.”
