Tuesday, July 3, 2018, the new Belgian Army Special Operations Regiment (SOR) has officially takes delivery of the first production vehicle of the Rapid Reaction Vehicle (RRV) also nicknamed FOX. This recent procurement by the Belgium Special Forces of over a 100 Jankel Fox RRVs saw the Belgium Defence Minister, Steven Vandeput comment that the vehicles ‘allow the Belgian army to enter the 21st century”. The Fox fleet brings together Toyota’s expertise in automotive technology and reliability, with Jankel’s military protection and upgraded terrain performance. Currently, Jankel has delivered five vehicle to the Belgian that will be unveiled to the public during the military parade for the National Day, July 21, 2018.
Jankel met the Belgium Ministry of Defence (BeMOD)’s requirement to upgrade their military fleet with vehicles offering greater mobility, tactile agility and protection while on the ground. The Fox RRV is designed with enhanced weight carrying capacity, internal CH-47 air transportability and increased off-road agility to push the boundaries of payload, mobility and performance. Having agreed the production schedule, entering the final phases of the contract is a great success for all parties involved. Full production is at Jankel’s latest production facility in Rustington, West Sussex, a purpose-designed centre that has already delivered over 100 vehicles for customers globally since its recent opening.
British Company Jankel has also delivered 38 removable protection kit offering STANAG 4569 Level 1 protection against small arms fire, shell splinters, and hand grenades.
Fox RRV-x is based on the chassis of Toyota Hilux light commercial vehicle, with custom improvements and automotive upgrades made by Jankel. It features a modular design, which enables multiple reconfigurations according to the requirements of customer. The reliable platform further offers superior off-road mobility and payload capacity. The vehicle is installed with a main ring-mount and soft-mounts for 12.7mm/7.62mm machine gun or a 5.56mm machine gun or a 40mm automatic grenade launcher (AGL). It can also integrate forward post and cradle mounts for a 7.62mm GPMG or a 5.56mm gun. The under-belly protection plate further ensures protection from anti-personnel improvised explosive devices (IEDs) under the hull. This kit can be can be mounted and dismounted by a crew of two in less than four hours.
The vehicle can be equipped with a 4.2L six-cylinder turbo-charged or a 4.5L V8 turbo-charged intercooled diesel or a 4.0L V6 petrol engine coupled to the automatic transmission. It can also be integrated with RF Safe-Stop, a state-of-the-art, non-destructive, vehicle stopping system. The vehicle has a maximum speed of 170km/h and a typical range of 900km. The optional fuel tank installed aboard the vehicle can extend the range up to 1,300km. The RRV can climb a vertical obstacle of 300mm and ford a depth of 700mm. The approach and departure angles of the vehicle are 40° and 45° respectively.
