The Pathfinder Platoon's Long Range Patrol Vehicle: a cutaway Defender 90 — the "Piggyback" — stripped of windscreen and doors by REME 10 Airborne Workshop at Aldershot around 1993, with double jerrycan racks where the doors were, mesh panniers on the rear body, two GPMG mounts and, on half the fleet, a Warn self-recovery winch. Twelve were brought to LRPV standard in 1994.
The Pathfinders are the reconnaissance and pathfinding platoon of Britain's airborne brigade — 5 Airborne Brigade when these vehicles were built — and their patrols need vehicles that can be flown or dropped in and then operate a long way from anyone. In the early 1990s that vehicle was a modified short-wheelbase Defender.
REME 10 Airborne Workshop at Aldershot did the work around 1993, starting from the cutaway Defender 90 variant, nicknamed the Piggyback. The windscreen and doors came off; double jerrycan racks went alongside where the cab doors had been; stowage panniers were hung from both rear body sides; and two improvised mounts, one on the dashboard and one on the rear bed, took the 7.62 mm GPMG. At least half the fleet had Warn bumper-mounted self-recovery winches, and Southdown underside protection kits guarded the running gear. Twelve were used by the Pathfinders, and all appear to have been brought up to LRPV standard in 1994, the year they were photographed on the Long Valley training area at Aldershot.
The LRPV was a stopgap between the Series IIA Pink Panther era and the purpose-designed WMIK. From 2000 the Pathfinders used the Defender 110 WMIK instead, and the D90 LRPV passed out of use. As pre-Wolf military Defenders they ran the naturally aspirated 2.5-litre diesel.
MANUFACTUREDConverted c. 1993; all twelve to LRPV standard by 1994; superseded by the D110 WMIK from 2000
ENGINE2.5 L naturally aspirated diesel inline-four (British military pre-Wolf Defender 90)
PRODUCTION RUN12 vehicles
COUNTRY OF ORIGINUnited Kingdom
OPERATED INUnited Kingdom
STATUSwithdrawn
RECORD KINDNamed model
MODEL LINEDefender
WHEELS4
NOMINAL WHEELBASE90″
CATEGORYMilitary · UK
Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.
Renders & references
Front three-quarterRegistry renderThree-quarterRegistry renderSideRegistry renderRearRegistry renderFrontRegistry render61 KJ 48 winch-equipped Pathfinder 90.Bob Morrison / Joint Forces ↗Rear panniers, open tailgate and equipment details.Bob Morrison / Joint Forces ↗
