Following its initial development in 1997, the rapid deployment vehicle (RDV) concept – one of Ricardo’s most successful defence vehicle engineering innovations – was introduced a year later by the British Army as the weapons mount installation kit (WMIK). Ten years on – and following duty in Sierra Leone, Kosovo, Liberia, Afghanistan and Iraq – the Army’s WMIK-equipped Land Rover Defenders are returning to Ricardo as part of a major upgrade programme.
The RDV was conceived as an adaptation kit to enable the conversion of standard Land Rover Defender transports – already strengthened to include chassis outriggers and roll-cage mounts – into peacekeeping and other specialist role vehicles in just a few hours. Following ten years of exceptional service, a fleet of 200 WMIK-equipped Land Rover Defenders is undergoing a major upgrade by Ricardo Special Vehicles. The programme, which is already 50 per cent complete, involves significant enhancements to crew protection systems as well as a significant increase in vehicle payload, enabled by in-depth re-engineering of the chassis and suspension systems. These are just the latest improvements to the original WMIK product, which has been sold to a number of customers from other NATO and Commonwealth countries. In addition to the standard Land Rover Defender WMIKs used by the British Army, Ricardo has developed similar RDV concepts based on other platforms, such as the Ford F350. It has also produced a range of optional modules and products, including infra-red lighting systems and lightweight seating systems, which are compatible with many vehicle types.
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