The Wolf of Load Lane
After an absence of over 28 years, JLR are again chasing the military contracts, this time with the Wolf Series II
Words – Ian M. Garner – Pictures Courtesy of JLR
Above – This Defender 110 Station Wagon, looks to be designed to fill a General Service style roll, with steel wheels, and a raised air intake.
The last time Land Rover delivered a major contract to the British Army was in 1998, with the Defender XD or Wolf as it was known. JLR then seemed to have moved away from chasing the military contracts and instead started chasing high margin lower volume production. So, imagine my surprise when on the 4th September JLR revealed the Defender Wolf Series II.
Based on the existing D7X platform of the L663 Defender, the Wolf II has been engineered under JLR’s new Defender Defense Division to manage a more extreme life. 62,000 tests where carried out prior to engineering sign off for example. JLR stated that “the chassis and body architecture were engineered to withstand JLR’s Extreme Event Test procedure”, although details of what that entails were not shared.
Revealed at the Army DVD 2026 event at Millbrook, JLR released pictures of the Tactical Mobility Vehicle (TMV), Mono-Tactical Mobility Vehicle (M-TMV and a Utility Vehicle (UV). These will be available to Defense organisations around the world and are part of JLR’s bid for the UK MoD’s Light Mobility Vehicle tender.
Little in the way of technical details have been shared, but it was noted that unnecessary complexity had been removed to meet military requirements. We at LRLife await further details as to this exciting development in the Defenders life cycle.
Above – The Tactical Mobility Vehicle is akin to the WMIK’s of old. Much of the Defenders monocoque has been removed, replaced with a roll cage to keep the structural rigidity. The wind screen is flat an looks to have the ability to be folded down. The heavy doors have been replaced with simple tubular structures.
Below – The Utility Variant is similar to the Australian style tray backs of old, and gives us the first two door Defender 110.
