BIRST Mobile Weapons Platform

History

BIRST — British Independent Reconnaissance and Strike Technology (UK) Ltd — was founded by two former army officers to develop a light strike vehicle, with initial design drawings completed by designer Mark Robins as early as 1992. The Mobile Weapons Platform they built in 1995 used a second-hand 1984 Land Rover One Ten V8 (registration B655 VBV) as its donor, clothing the 3.5-litre V8 chassis in a low, open body of fire-retardant BS Class 1 glass-reinforced plastic with mesh reinforcement over a tubular-steel spaceframe. The specification included run-flat inserts in its Bridgestone Mud Dueler tyres, 12- or 24-volt electrics, a front-bumper electric winch, and provision for machine guns, grenade launchers and anti-tank missile systems.

The finished vehicle was exhibited for the first time at the Royal Navy British Army Equipment Exhibition at Pegasus Village, Aldershot, over 3–8 September 1995. In 1996 the company answered a Malaysian government invitation to tender for a Fast Strike Vehicle, but the contract went to Glover Webb, whose proposal was likewise One Ten-based, and no production followed. As far as is known only one BIRST MWP was ever made; wearing a green-black-and-sand disruptive scheme, it survives in the Dunsfold Collection.

Imagery

Registry record

Manufacturer

Land Rover (donor 1984 One Ten V8)

Manufactured

designed from 1992; built 1995 on a 1984 donor

Modifier / coachbuilder

British Independent Reconnaissance and Strike Technology (UK) Ltd

Engine type

3.5 L Rover V8 petrol, 4-speed manual

Production run

1 vehicle

Current owner

The Dunsfold Collection ↗

Country of origin

United Kingdom

Status

preserved

Catalogue data

Record kind

Named model

Model line

Defender

Wheels

4

Base catalogue fields are exported from the Difflocked game. In-game physics values are arcade tuning, not certified historical measurements, and are deliberately not shown as specifications here.

Sources & citations

Researched sources

• 1995 BIRST Mobile Weapons Platform ↗ — The Dunsfold Collection (accessed 2026-09-10)
• Birst and last (BIRST MWP prototype, Stage 2 One Ten) ↗ — Land Rover Monthly (accessed 2026-09-10)

Catalogue references

• https://dunsfoldcollection.co.uk/collection/birst/ https://dunsfoldcollection.co.uk/collection/birst/ ↗

Development reference notes

• BIRST Mobile Weapons Platform · HERITAGE-FLEET-REFERENCES.md

  Low, open, purpose-built body; visible frame; weapon-platform layout. Reference: https://dunsfoldcollection.co.uk/collection/birst/