Ford Ranger 6x6 goes to war

The Australian-engineered Ford Ranger Super Duty has swapped hay bales for hardware, with a six-wheeled military prototype revealed as part of a bid to arm the British Army.

Ford has teamed up with General Dynamics Land Systems UK and engineering firm Ricardo to chase the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence’s Light Mobility Vehicle program, offering both 4x4 and 6x6 versions of the tough truck that will get enthusiasts excited.

If the Ranger Super Duty always looked like a ute that had been to the gym, this one has been to boot camp.

The 6x6 prototype wears entry-level XLT bodywork but rides on the beefed-up Super Duty chassis, complete with steel underbody armour, a heavy-duty transfer case and locking front and rear differentials.

The hardware is familiar to anyone who has watched a Super Duty drag a trailer full of fence posts up a paddock. That 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel produces 154kW and 600Nm, here paired with a hybrid system and a rear-mounted electric motor good for another 210kW.

The numbers stay serious. Towing is rated at 4500kg, payload at 1982kg, and gross combined mass at 8000kg – hay hauler figures that translate neatly to hauling troops, ammunition and field kit.

Ground clearance is almost 300mm and it will wade through 850mm of water, which is handy when the road ahead has been rearranged by ordnance.

Inside, the 12-inch portrait touchscreen swaps podcast duties for third-party tactical mission software. Payload scales are one thing, but this is a Ranger that now runs a war machine’s worth of software.

While an official 6x6 Ford Ranger is about as likely as snow on the Nullarbor, there’s every chance the British armed forces will be driving them.

Britain requires roughly 2500 vehicles to replace its big Steyr-Puch Pinzgauers and Land Rover Defenders by 2030 and the prize is a £4.8 billion contract.

With evaluation trials scheduled between October 2026 and January 2027 the Ranger is up against the Land Rover Defender Wolf Series II plus bids from General Motors and Ineos, so this is a genuine fight rather than a parade lap.

General Dynamics says the trio of Rangers will deliver a “proven, scalable and cost-effective solution” that “meets the British Army’s needs while creating significant export opportunities and maximising value for the UK taxpayer”.

Ford has also shown troop-carrying, light tactical, equipment support and battlefield ambulance versions of the Super Duty, which suggests the Aussie-developed workhorse could end up with a very long service record indeed.

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