Ford Ranger 6×6 may replace Land Rover Defender in the UK army

Ford has entered the race for one of the largest open military vehicle contracts in the United Kingdom. Alongside General Dynamics Land Systems UK and engineering consultancy Ricardo, the automaker has entered militarized versions of the Ranger, including a six-wheeled variant, into the British Ministry of Defense’s Light Mobility Vehicle (LMV) program.

The notice provides for the purchase of about 2,500 light utility vehicles to retire the Land Rover Defender and Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer fleets by 2030, within an initiative valued at 4.8 billion pounds (about R$ 33 billion). Ranger competes with the Land Rover Defender Wolf Series II and with proposals from General Motors and Ineos.

The consortium took two prototypes to the showcase. The first is a four-wheel pickup derived from the Wildtrak version, with a tubular bumper, seat on the bed and camouflage paint. The second, more ambitious, has a body similar in appearance to the XLT configuration, but uses the chassis of the Ranger Super Duty, developed in Australia. The six-wheel conversion is not unprecedented: Ricardo and Ford had already shown an example in 2023. The novelty is the entry of General Dynamics into the group.

V6 diesel with electric

boost Under the hood is the V6 3.0 turbodiesel engine with 209 hp and 61,2 kgfm, associated with a hybrid system. According to data previously released by Ricardo, a rear electric motor adds 286 hp in 6×6 and 6×4 configurations.

Preparation for field use includes steel underarmour, reinforced transfer case, front and rear differential lock and longer-travel suspension, which raises ground clearance to almost 30 cm and allows you to cross flooded sections of up to 85 cm. The towing capacity reaches 4,500 kg, the payload 1,982 kg and the total combined gross weight 8,000 kg. Inside, tactical mission software runs on the standard 12″ multimedia center.

Tests start in October

The Ministry of Defense’s evaluations are expected to take place between October 2026 and January 2027, according to the Defense Blog. General Dynamics says that the proposal is scalable and low-cost, and that it meets the needs of the British Army while opening space for export. These are arguments that have not yet passed the scrutiny of official tests.

The logic is known here. The Brazilian Armed Forces also retired Land Rover Defender and Toyota Bandeirante by standardizing the light fleet around the Agrale Marruá, adopted in 2005 and still in service. The difference is that the national project was born military, while the British are considering adapting civilian line pickups.