Long Range Patrol Vehicle
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The Long Range Patrol Vehicle (LRPV) is a
6x6 Six-wheel drive (6WD or 6×6) is an all-wheel drive drivetrain configuration of three axles with at least two wheels on each axle capable of being driven simultaneously by the vehicle's engine. Unlike four-wheel drive drivetrains, the configurat ...
patrol vehicle that was used by the Australian
Special Air Service Regiment The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957, it was modelled on the British SAS sharing the motto, "Who Dares Wins". The reg ...
(SASR) in Afghanistan and Iraq.


Design

The SASR's first long ranged patrol vehicles were modified Series II Land Rovers. They were developed in the early 1970s and used in exercises in northern
Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
from 1973. The LRPV was developed from the
six-wheel drive Six-wheel drive (6WD or 6×6) is an all-wheel drive drivetrain configuration of three axles with at least two wheels on each axle capable of being driven simultaneously by the vehicle's engine. Unlike four-wheel drive drivetrains, the configurat ...
variant of the Australian Army's
Land Rover Perentie The Land Rover Perentie is a nickname for the Land Rover 110 produced by JRA Limited for the Australian Army, and part manufactured and assembled in Moorebank, New South Wales, during the 1980s and 1990s. There were two build contracts; the fir ...
design in the late 1980s. The design was intended to be used by the SASR to patrol remote regions of Australia. The LRPV is mechanically simple, and relatively easy to maintain in the field. It has a crew of three. The LRPV is fitted with a central ring mount, which can be fitted with either 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 ...
heavy machine gun or a Mk 19 automatic grenade launcher (AGL). A
MAG 58 The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale (FN) by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries and it has been made under licence in several countries, inc ...
medium machine gun is also commonly fitted in front of the passenger's (left-hand) seat. In addition, LRPVs can also carry a Suzuki DRZ 250cc motorbike on their tailgate to be used for scouting purposes.


Service history

The LRPV deployed to Kuwait in 1998 for
Operation Desert Thunder Operation Desert Thunder was a response to threats by Iraq's president Saddam Hussein to shoot down U-2 spy planes, and violate the no-fly zone set up over his country. The operation was designed to bring stability to the region by bringing in a ...
, and first saw combat as part of the Australian contribution to the
War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...
,
Operation Slipper The Australian contribution to the war in Afghanistan has been known as Operation Slipper (2001–2014) and Operation Highroad (2015-2021). Australian Defence Force (ADF) operations and the size of the forces deployed have varied and ADF invol ...
and later in Iraq in
Operation Falconer Falconer may refer to: * A person skilled in the art of falconry People * Falconer (surname), a family name * Falconer Larkworthy (1833–1928), New Zealand banker and financier * Falconer Madan (1851—1935), librarian of the Bodleian Librar ...
. The SASR's 1 Squadron arrived in Afghanistan in November 2001, and rapidly sent LRPV-mounted patrols hundreds of kilometers from their base at
Camp Rhino Forward operating base (FOB) Rhino, also known as Camp Rhino, was a U.S. military base located in the Registan Desert of Afghanistan, southwest of Kandahar. It was the first U.S. land base established in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring F ...
. In his history of the SASR's early operations in Afghanistan, journalist Ian McPhedran wrote that the "Australian-designed LRPVs would prove ideal in the harsh Afghan environment, as they could stay on patrol for weeks on end without needing to return to base". On 16 February 2002 SASR Sergeant Andrew Russell was killed when the LRPV he was travelling in struck a mine during an operation in the Helmand Valley. This was the first Australian fatality of the war, and Russell was the first member of the SASR to have been killed in action since the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. The two other members of the vehicle's crew were wounded in this incident, and the LRPV was destroyed. As a result of this incident, all of the remaining LRPVs were fitted with a "Survival Enhancement Kit", which consisted of armour plating beneath the vehicle and shock-absorbent seats. In 2003, the SASR's 1 Squadron were one of the first special forces units to enter Iraq in the
invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
, entering from
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, consisting of two troops with LRPVs crossing the border entering the western desert and a third troop with LRPVs inserted by U.S. helicopters over the border. Western Iraq had been divided into areas to patrol between the U.S. 5th Special Forces Group, the UK
Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...
and the SASR. The SASR was equipped with
FIM-92 Stinger The FIM-92 Stinger is an American man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) that operates as an infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM). It can be adapted to fire from a wide variety of ground vehicles, and from helicopters as the Air-to- ...
Man-Portable Air-Defence Systems. The two troops who crossed the border conducted one of the first engagements of the war and the third troop inserted by helicopter was for several days the closest coalition element to Baghdad. The SASR also used the 2nd Commando Regiment vehicle designated the Surveillance Reconnaissance Vehicle (SRV) to supplement LRPV patrols. The SRV is a
Land Rover Perentie The Land Rover Perentie is a nickname for the Land Rover 110 produced by JRA Limited for the Australian Army, and part manufactured and assembled in Moorebank, New South Wales, during the 1980s and 1990s. There were two build contracts; the fir ...
4x4 fitted with the same ring mount as the LRPV in the rear to enable the fitting of 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 ...
machine gun or Mk 19 grenade launcher. It also has a passenger side front seat weapon mount for the
MAG 58 The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale (FN) by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries and it has been made under licence in several countries, inc ...
machine gun. The LRPV was later in the Afghanistan campaign, after Australia returned in 2006, patrolling regularly with the SRV, the Australian made Bushmaster armoured vehicle as well as
Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...
six-wheel
all-terrain vehicle An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is stra ...
s, which could be fitted with a
MAG 58 The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale (FN) by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries and it has been made under licence in several countries, inc ...
machine gun, and carry a M3 Carl Gustav recoilless rifle. Coalition Special Operations had been using vehicles with the latest armour protected vehicle hull for many years, since 2003 the UK
Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...
had been using the Supacat HMT 400 in Afghanistan and the same vehicle entered service with the US
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (1st SFOD-D), referred to variously as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), Army Compartmented Elements (ACE), "The Unit", or within Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Task Fo ...
in Afghanistan in 2004. In 2008, the Bushmaster became the primary combat vehicle favoured over the LRPV. In August 2008, Australia placed an order for 31 of the latest Supacat HMT vehicles, the Extenda configurable between 4x4 and 6x6, named the "Nary" for use in Afghanistan to replace the LRPVs for a cost of $80 million. The project to introduce these vehicles into service was delayed by three years due to problems integrating different systems onto the vehicles, but they reached their 'final operating capability' on 28 June 2012. Several Nary vehicles were deployed to Afghanistan. After the withdrawal of the SASR from Afghanistan in 2013, the LRPV and SRV were redistributed to the Commandos from the 1st and 2nd Commando Regiment.


References

;Citations ;Works consulted * * * * * *{{cite journal, last=Slocombe, first=Geoff, title=Project Redfin – Special Operations Mobility and Information Environment Upgrades, journal=Asia Pacific Defence Reporter, date=November 2012, volume=38, issue=9, pages=10–12, issn=1446-6880


External links


Long Range Patrol VehicleLong Range Patrol VehicleLong Range Patrol Vehicle
Land Rover vehicles Cars of Australia Military trucks All-wheel-drive vehicles Off-road vehicles Military vehicles of Australia Military vehicles introduced in the 1980s