In July 2023, Jankel is celebrating the delivery of over 500 Jankel Fox tactical vehicles, globally. The Jankel Fox product line is a family of tactical vehicles based on modified off-the-shelf Toyota base vehicles; either the Hilux or the 79 series pickup (single and double cab), depending on each customer’s requirements. The 500 vehicles have been designed, developed and built by Jankel in the UK where the IP resides, as well as being produced in collaboration with their French partners, Technamm who have built the French variant of the Jankel Fox Long Range Patrol Vehicle (LRPV), named ‘Jankel Fox by Masstech’. The vehicle was procured by the French MoD as part of the VPS2 urgent requirement in 2018. The vehicles are manufactured under license in France by Technamm at their Lambesc facility. In 2015, Jankel was awarded an internationally competed contract to supply 108 Jankel Fox 4×4 Rapid Reaction Vehicles (RRV) to the Belgium Ministry of Defence (BeMoD) for use by their Special Forces. The last of the BeMoD Jankel Fox RRV’s rolled off the production line in 2020. Since then, Jankel has received a significant number of orders for Jankel Fox vehicles from undisclosed global customers in different variants, bringing the current total to over 500, supporting UK exports and jobs across a growing team of engineers and skilled technicians. The Jankel Fox vehicle is now in service and supported in: UK; USA; NZ; Romania; France; Belgium; Botswana; Oman; Jordan; South Korea; Brunei; Spain; Italy; Mauritania and Indonesia.
Andrew Jankel, Chairman at Jankel said: “this is an important milestone for Jankel as we see over 500 of our Jankel Fox tactical vehicles having been delivered to over fifteen end user groups. That’s a significant achievement creating UK-held Intellectual Property and enabling Jankel to further grow the team, creating and sustaining skilled engineering jobs. The programmes have demonstrated our flexibility in producing and exporting vehicles globally including through licensed manufacture in-country, to satisfy local build requirements – a model that can be replicated anywhere”. He added: “I think there are three main points to make about the Jankel Fox. 1) it’s an extremely capable and flexible platform that is now battle-proven on multiple operations. 2) our approach of using modified off-the-shelf base vehicles delivers the required capability but at an affordable price. 3) because the Jankel Fox is based on the world-renowned and supremely reliable Toyota chassis’, remote users can tap into a global support network literally, anywhere. At the same time, we’ve developed a comprehensive support solution to complement that.”
The Jankel Fox family comprises of three main role variants: Tactical Utility Vehicle (TUV); Rapid Reaction Vehicle (RRV) and Long Range Patrol Vehicle (LRPV) available in 4×4 and 6×6 variants. Jankel continue to spirally develop the platform in the UK with configurations and developments to integrate future mission systems across the Jankel Fox family. Jankel has designed and integrated upgrades to the off-the-shelf automotive platform systems including: suspension; drive train; brakes; transmission and power generation. The military integration then includes weapons, communications, ECM, modular armour, seating, tools and stowage. The vehicle is compliant with multiple international defence standards that include reliability, integration, service support, operating environments, towing, tie-downs, aircraft and helicopter transportation. The Jankel Fox has a crew of 2-6 and is used in a variety of roles including: command, reconnaissance, tactical patrol, fire-support, logistics, border patrol and anti-poaching. Jankel has also put in place a comprehensive global support solution that is delivering all aspects of in-service support to the range of customers now operating their Jankel Fox vehicles.
The Jankel group of companies has been continually trading since its incorporation by founder Robert Jankel in 1955. In its early years, Jankel provided specialist design and manufacturing services to improve the performance of rally and racing cars. By 1970 Jankel had established Panther Westwinds and was manufacturing production sport cars and coach-built touring limousines for VIP customers. Jankel then diversified into coachwork for the likes of Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Mercedes-Benz, specialising in armoured, Head of State vehicles. In 1997 Jankel branched out into producing vehicles for the UK MoD and Police. Jankel has a joint venture in Jordan with King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau (KADDB), Jordan Light Vehicle Manufacturing LCC which was established in 2003. Jankel’s US subsidiary, Jankel Tactical Systems, was founded in 2008. The current portfolio of products and services is wholly defence and security focused and covers the design, development, prototyping and production of armoured vehicles, light tactical vehicles, counter terrorism vehicles and equipment, and customised occupant survivability solutions for military, security, government, aid agencies and NGOs.
