They have been presented to the vehicle support team within DE&S at an event in Devon and were manufactured as part of the UK Ministry of Defence Protected Mobility Engineering and Technical Support (PMETS) contract.
In June 2023, serving members from the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and Royal Irish Regiment received operational training and this week they will receive their first of the vehicles.
Later this year, the British Army will receive two further Supacat LWRVs to fulfil their need for off-road capability in harsh environments like those encountered during Operation Newcombe in Mali, Africa.
Brigadier Matt Wilkinson, vehicle support team leader at DE&S, said: “The announcement of the Lightweight Recovery Variant reaching Initial Operating Capability is the product of fantastic collaboration between the British Army, Defence Equipment and Support, Supacat and NP Aerospace under the PMETS contract.
“We now have a Lightweight Recovery capability, which the British Army can exploit to inform the Army’s Future Soldier requirements for recovery vehicles.”
David Petheram, managing director and senior vice president of NP Aerospace, added: “The PMETS contract has run successfully for the last four years, delivering significant innovations that have benefited the British Army on operation.
“Achieving IOC is an important step in our lightweight recovery vehicle programme with Supacat and demonstrates our joint collaboration with industry partners for the benefit of the UK MOD.”
Phil Applegarth, director and head of Supacat, said: “This solution fills a crucial capability gap and showcases the HMT’s modularity as a highly adaptable vehicle that can accommodate various system integrations based on operational needs.
“The LWRV has been equipped with a ground-breaking technology called Supalift, which significantly extends the lifting capacity of light vehicle recovery systems for the Army.”
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