Tow Trucks For The Army

landyFRT — A Land Rover Light Forward Repair Vehicle which is equipped with a crane. It is one of the dwindling numbers of specialty Land Rovers still in service with the Army. Tentera Darat picture

SHAH ALAM: Tow trucks for the Army. A day after Last Post for the Landys was published, the Defence Ministry issued a request for bids for the procurement of Light forward repair vehicle (LFRV) under the the Army Mobility Phase III. The RFB opened on June 4 and closes on June 29.

Not much details were offered in public accessible portion of the RFB apart from that it was seeking to procure 13 LFRV which was described as

The Light Forward Repair Vehicle (LFRV)is required to carry a 4-men repair team with all the necessary tools and equipment to perform in-situ repairs effectively during field deployment.

A Land Rover LFRV being inspected in 2020. The LFRV belongs to the 7th Workshop Brigade. BTDM.

Since we know that the current LFRV is a Land Rover fitted with a crane inside the rear cabin, tools and carry four personnel, we can assumed the new vehicles being sought is basically the size of a Toyota Hilux or Isuzu DMax pickups. Both vehicles have been selected as the one-tonne GS Cargo 4X4 vehicles to replace the Landys.

A Land Rover LFRV from 7th Workshop Brigade undergoing inspection. BTDM

I have no idea how many LFRV Land Rovers are in service but we can assumed the number may well be 13 as this was the number being sought by the RFB.

An Isuzu GS Cargo pick-up being driven up from the landing craft onto HMAS Adelaide well deck. during the ship’s visit to Malaysia in 2017.

It is also interesting to note that there are two RFBs for the multi-modal transport operator (MTO) were published within the last two weeks but did not mentioned the port of loading in the publicly accessible portion of the advertisements.

A TMSS vehicle of the Army laying its trackway for a bridging exercise. BTDM

Another MTO tender for a tactical mobility support system (TMSS) also published within the same time period readily offered the identity of the port of loading which is Southampton in the UK. The MTO RFBs which did not mentioned the port of loading are for the aiming light device and close quarters personal protection vest and accessories for the Army. I have no idea why they chose not to name the port of loading for both of the RFBs, your guess is as good as mine.

— Malaysian Defence