The Ford Ranger Super Duty has launched in Australia, with engineers from the company's local arm designing and engineering the vehicle for a wide variety of industries and fleets.
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But while Ford specifically targeted industries such as mining, forestry, fire management, and agricultural industries, the Ranger Super Duty could find itself being called up for duty in other areas.
Tactical divisions of state law enforcement, such as Victoria Police's Special Operations Group (SOG) and NSW Police Force's Tactical Operations Unit (TOU), are still using the Toyota LandCruiser 200 Series as their main vehicles – but the Ranger Super Duty could now offer a viable alternative.
Units like the SOG and TOU – colloquially referred to as SWAT – are often required to transport at least four officers to a location, along with significant amounts of equipment.
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While Victoria Police declined to provide a comment for this story, citing the covert nature of the Special Operations Group, it's understood other divisions – like the Public Order Response Team and Critical Incident Response Team – already use standard Ford Ranger utes as operational vehicles.
We've imagined what the Ranger Super Duty could look like as a Public Order and Riot Squad vehicle with NSW Police (top), thanks to artist Theottle.
Despite remaining tight-lipped on the possibility of the Ranger Super Duty being used for tactical operations, it was clear the topic had been discussed within the walls of Ford's Australian head office.
"Ranger Super Duty comes to market as a result of extensive customer feedback from heavy-duty fleet operators revealed a gap in the market for a vehicle that met their needs without compromise," a Ford spokesperson told CarExpert.
"Customers told us they wanted the size, dependability, safety, and agility of Ranger with the heavy-duty capability that comes with Super Duty, resulting in a new mid-size truck engineered to conquer extreme conditions and demanding workloads straight from the factory."
The above digital illustration by Theottle also imagines the Ranger Super Duty with Victoria's Forest Fire Management – one of the roles it was specifically designed for.
Given the Australian Defence Force's contract with Mercedes-Benz to supply and maintain the G-Class Professional is expected to be up for review in 2030, it's not unfeasible that Ford could put up the Ranger Super Duty for consideration – provided the Blue Oval is prepared to be contracted for up to two decades.
"The Ford Ranger Super Duty was designed with a diverse customer base and use case in mind," a spokesperson for Ford Australia told CarExpert.
"If the defence and security sector sees a benefit in its increased payload, towing, and off-road capability, we would be happy to work with them. However, we have no specific news to share in that area."
Content originally sourced from: CarExpert.com.au
