Long Range Patrol Vehicle

Long Range Patrol Vehicle

A Long Range Patrol Vehicle on display at the Australian Defence Force Academy
Service history
In service Late 1980s–current
Used by Special Air Service Regiment
Wars War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
Iraq War
Specifications
Crew 3
Main
armament
 M2 Browning machine gun or Mk 19 grenade launcher or Heckler & Koch GMG
Secondary
armament
 MAG 58 machine gun

The Long Range Patrol Vehicle (LRPV) is a six wheeled patrol vehicle used by the Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SASR).

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 from 1973.[1]

The LRPV was developed from the six-wheel drive variant of the Australian Army's Land Rover Perentie design in the late 1980s.[2] The design was intended to be used by the SASR to patrol remote regions of Australia.[3] The LRPV is mechanically simple, and relatively easy to maintain in the field.[4] It has a crew of three.[5]

The LRPV is fitted with a central ring mount, which can be fitted with either a M2 Browning heavy machine gun or an automatic grenade launcher (AGL).[2] The American Mk 19 was the first AGL to be fitted to the vehicles, but this system was replaced with the German Heckler & Koch GMG in or around 2011.[3] A MAG 58 medium machine gun is also commonly fitted in front of the passenger's (left-hand) seat.[2] In addition, LRPVs can also carry a 250cc motorbike on their tailgate to be used for scouting purposes.[3]

Service history

A LRPV on display at the Australian War Memorial. This vehicle struck a mine while deployed to Afghanistan.

The SASR's LRPVs first saw combat as part of the Australian contribution to the War in Afghanistan, Operation Slipper. 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.[6] 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".[7]

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 two other members of the vehicle's crew were wounded in this incident, and the LRPV was destroyed.[8] As a result of this incident, all of the remaining LRPVs were fitted with a "Survival Enhancement Kit", which comprised armour plates beneath the vehicle and shock-absorbent seats.[2]

The Australian Army ordered 31 Supacat "Nary" special operations vehicles to replace the LRPVs in August 2008 for a cost of $80 million.[9] 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.[10] Several Nary SOVs have been deployed to Afghanistan.[9]

References

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Citations
  1. ↑ Horner and Thomas (2009), pp. 252–253
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Neville (2011), p. 21
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Neville (2011), p. 18
  4. ↑ McPhedran (2005), p. 161
  5. ↑ "Long Range Patrol Vehicle (LRPV) with winch". Defence Material Office. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  6. ↑ McPhedran (2005), pp. 153–155
  7. ↑ McPhedran (2005), p. 147
  8. ↑ McPhedran (2005), pp. 181–182
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Slocombe (2012), p. 12
  10. ↑ Slocombe (2012), p. 10
Works consulted