The Ranger Special Operations Vehicle (RSOV) is a light military vehicle of the
U.S. Army's
75th Ranger Regiment
The 75th Ranger Regiment, also known as Army Rangers, is the U.S. Army's premier light infantry unit and special operations force within the United States Army Special Operations Command. The regiment is headquartered at Fort Benning, Georgi ...
, based on the
Land Rover Defender. The RSOV is not meant to be an assault vehicle, but rather a rapid defensive platform.
History
In 1992, the
U.S. Army Rangers decided to adopt the RSOV in order to replace their
M151 light gun trucks.
The decision to adopt the vehicle was inspired by American troops seeing the Land Rover deployed by the British in the Gulf War.
They noted that the vehicle was easier to use in desert terrain compared to the
Humvee
The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the ori ...
.
60 RSOVs were initially purchased to fulfill a requirement for 12 RSOVs per battalion.
The RSOV was secretly deployed to support potential anti-terrorist efforts to ensure the safety of people visiting the
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
in Spain, but they were kept out of the public eye.
Design
The RSOV's design is based on the
Land Rover Defender Model 110, having different specifications from the British Weapons Mount Installation Kit.
The RSOV was built by the Land Rover Special Operations Vehicle Department.
It was also meant to be airlifted by helicopter or transport aircraft if needed.
Initial prototypes used 3.5 liter V8 engines, but final models used four cylinder turbo diesel engines
with a manual transmission.
The diesel engine does not make loud noises when deployed, allowing Ranger teams to be stealthy when tasked with seizing places of interest.
The Rangers have three main types of RSOV, the weapons carrier, medical vehicle, or communications vehicle. As a weapons carrier it can carry up to 8,000 lbs, including six to seven fully armed Rangers.
The Ranger is designed with a crew of three in mind: a truck commander (TC), seated front-left, a driver, and a top gunner, in the rear.
Additional seating arrangements can be made for an antitank operator, radiotelephone operator or a dismount team typically consisting of an
M249 squad automatic weapon gunner,
M203 gunner and rifleman.
According to Bob Morrison, the development of the RSOV had an influence for the eventual development of the
WMIK.
Weapons
For a typical operation, both vehicles in an RSOV section would be equipped with various machine guns at the forward truck commander's station, with a
Mk 19 grenade launcher
The Mk 19 grenade launcher (pronounced Mark 19) is an American 40 mm belt-fed automatic grenade launcher that was first developed during the Vietnam War.
Overview
The Mk 19 is a belt-fed, blowback-operated, air-cooled, crew-serve ...
at the top gunner position in one vehicle, and a
Browning .50 cal M2 machine gun mounted on that top position in the other vehicle.
A M249 light machine gun can be mounted in front of the TC seat for the front passenger to use in case of an enemy encounter.
Variants
In addition to the RSOVs with their crew-served weapons, each Ranger battalion has two medical variants of the Defender known as a Medical Special Operations Vehicle (MEDSOV).
Instead of the weapon mounts found on standard RSOVs, the MEDSOV variant has fold-down racks capable of carrying six litter patients.
Along with its transported casualties, a typical MEDSOV crew would include a driver, a TC and two or three medics to treat the wounded.
Another RSOV variant used by the Ranger battalion
mortar platoon. Known as MORTSOVs, the platoon's two Defenders—they also have three
Humvee
The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the ori ...
s—replace the top-gun configuration with storage boxes and
guy wires that allow the vehicle to carry thirty mortar rounds along with the extra equipment required by the platoon.
In addition to its on-board carrying capacity, the MORTSOVs can be used to tow the platoon's mortars.
A RSOV communications variant is also used.
Users
* : Formally known as LAND ROVER DEFENDER – MILITARY ARMOURED 4 with the nickname of Kajman, it entered service in 2009 with modifications done by AMT Defense based on the Defender 130 chassis in a RSOV configuration.
* : Known to be supplied by Turkey to the
Security Forces Command
The Security Forces Command ( tr, Güvenlik Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı) is the military and security force of the unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
It is a 15,000 strong force primarily made up of conscripted Turkish Cypriot male ...
with Land Rover-type RSOVs made by
Otokar.
* : 13 units used by the
Portuguese Army
The Portuguese Army ( pt, Exército Português) is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its ...
Commandos
Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured
A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...
, it is equipped with a shield at the bottom for protection against improvised explosives, and equipped with a
M2 Browning
The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, w ...
, three
Heckler & Koch MG4, one
Carl Gustaf and one
60mm Mortar.
* : Used by the 75th Ranger Regiment.
See also
*
Interim Fast Attack Vehicle (IFAV)
*
Long Range Patrol Vehicle
The Long Range Patrol Vehicle (LRPV) is a 6x6 patrol vehicle that was used by the Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Design
The SASR's first long ranged patrol vehicles were modified Series II Land Rovers. ...
*
Land Rover Wolf - Weapons Mount Installation Kit
*
Predator SOV
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
References
Bibliography
*
{{Post-WWII US Soft Vehicles
Land Rover vehicles
Military vehicles of the United States
Off-road vehicles
All-wheel-drive vehicles
Military light utility vehicles
United States Army Rangers
Military vehicles introduced in the 1990s