The team will offer a commercially derived vehicle based on the Ranger and Ranger Super Duty platforms. Ford will provide the base vehicle, upfitting integration and aftersales support, while General Dynamics Land Systems will act as prime contractor and Ricardo as engineering partner.
Together, the companies employ more than 7,000 people across their UK operations and support thousands more through domestic supply chains. Ford alone employs more than 6,000 people in the UK, including at its Dunton engineering centre and Dagenham plant, where the Ranger’s 3.0-litre V6 engine is produced.
General Dynamics Land Systems will lead specialist defence systems integration and militarised conversion at its facilities in Merthyr Tydfil and Oakdale in South Wales. Ricardo will support the engineering and upfitting work needed to meet British Army operational requirements.
“The UK Ministry of Defence requires uncompromised capability, scale, and absolute reliability from day one. Our commercial off-the-shelf Ford Ranger platform does just this,” said Jim Baumbick, President, Ford Europe. “By marrying the most trusted and dominant truck platform in Europe, powered by an engine built in Dagenham, and the integration expertise of GDLS and Ricardo, we are able to offer an immediate, scalable, and UK-supported mobility platform.”
Baumbick said the partnership was also intended to reinforce the UK industrial base and improve supply-chain resilience. “Our team will give UK troops what they need to manoeuvre and win, while delivering, supply chain resilience and reinforcing the UK strategic industrial base. From the Second World War to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ford has always stood alongside the UK in times of need – we are answering the call to duty again today.”
Ford said it holds more than 40% of Europe’s pick-up truck market and that Ranger has been the region’s top-selling pick-up for 11 years. The Ranger provides a one-tonne payload and towing capacity of up to 3.5 tonnes, while the Ranger Super Duty increases payload to just under two tonnes, gross train mass to eight tonnes and towing capacity to as much as 4.5 tonnes.
The companies said using an established commercial platform and supply chain should reduce development costs and lead times while allowing production to scale in response to fleet requirements. General Dynamics and Ricardo would then convert that volume into mission-ready vehicles through their UK integration and engineering facilities.
“We are delighted to announce this partnership between Ford, Ricardo and GDLS, combining automotive scale, world-class engineering and trusted defence integration to support the British Army’s future mobility needs,” said Scott Milne, Vice-President and General Manager, General Dynamics Land Systems-UK. “Built on GDLS and Ricardo’s 15-plus years of collaboration and Ford’s century of UK manufacturing investment, this partnership offers a low-risk, capable solution ready today and supportable for decades.”
Milne said the proposal was also designed to support UK sovereign capability, skilled employment and the defence industrial base in Wales. “Beyond vehicles, it strengthens UK sovereign capability, creates skilled jobs, and keeps Wales at the forefront of Britain’s defence industrial base—while also laying the groundwork for future export opportunities and long-term growth for British industry.”
Ricardo will contribute its experience in vehicle engineering, advanced propulsion and systems integration to the programme. The company said its role would focus on developing adaptive applications that meet military vehicle requirements.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Ford and General Dynamics to develop innovative, adaptive solutions for military vehicle applications,” said Jason Oms-O’Donnell, CEO of Ricardo. “Ricardo has over 100 years’ experience in design, engineering and integration of advanced propulsion systems and remains at the forefront of supporting our customers in the UK and globally, with flexible, efficient and world leading solutions.”
Ford said its UK support network includes 171 dealers, 405 authorised repair sites and 120 Mobile Service vans, alongside parts availability and fleet uptime services. For vehicles deployed beyond the UK, the company has more than 3,800 authorised repairers and 487 mobile service vans across Europe.
The companies said Ford’s wider manufacturing and parts network could help maintain vehicle and component supply if production or logistics were disrupted at individual locations. The proposal also draws on Ford operations at Dunton, Dagenham, Halewood and Daventry, together with General Dynamics and Ricardo integration capabilities in the UK.
Ford said the bid builds on a UK industrial presence that has included engine production during the Second World War and participation in the automotive consortium that produced medical ventilators during the COVID-19 pandemic. The partners said their LMV proposal is intended to support British Army fleet modernisation while sustaining skilled employment, domestic engineering expertise and through-life support capacity.
