French Army 6072-series Convoy Escort Defender 110

History

France's armed forces have never used the Defender widely, so Bob Morrison rarely gets to photograph the ones they do run. On the NATO exercise TRIDENT JUNCTURE 2018 he found two consecutively numbered French Defender 110 station wagons from the 6072 series waiting to escort the armoured vehicles shown at the Distinguished Visitors Day more than a hundred kilometres south to rejoin the battlegroup. Their chassis numbers made them model-year 2007 vehicles with the 2402 cc Ford Duratorq Puma engine, betrayed by the convex bonnet. They appeared to be special-to-role conversions: fold-down CONVOI EXCEPTIONNEL boards and three orange beacons on the roof, a fold-back roof board, red and white hatched reflective strips, a spare-wheel rack on the left inside the rear compartment instead of the rear-door spare, and the rear door window plated with a frame to accept a drop-in signboard. The tac sign front and rear included a wagon wheel, the symbol of a Transportation or Movements formation of the Train. How many were converted is not stated in the source.

The registry's model is the Defender 110 station wagon in olive with the Puma bonnet, roof board and beacons, reflective strips, bonnet board, plated rear window and plates from the photographs; the spare is carried inside, so none is shown.

Imagery

Registry record

Manufacturer

Land Rover (Defender 110 station wagon, model year 2007, 2.4 L Puma)

Manufactured

Model-year 2007 build standard

Modifier / coachbuilder

French Army (Train) convoy-escort conversion — in-service fit, no builder recorded

Engine type

Ford Duratorq 'Puma' 2402 cc turbo-diesel

Production run

Unknown — 6072-series station wagons, at least two converted as convoy escorts

Country of origin

United Kingdom

Operated in

France

Status

in service

Catalogue data

Record kind

Named model

Model line

Defender

Wheels

4

Nominal wheelbase

110″

Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.

Sources & citations

Researched sources

• MLR Pt.14 — French D110 Station Wagons (Bob Morrison; two 6072-series convoy escort Defender 110 station wagons on TRIDENT JUNCTURE 2018) ↗ — Joint Forces News (accessed 2026-09-11)

Catalogue references

• https://www.joint-forces.com/features/military-land-rovers/20394-mlr-pt-14-french-d110-station-wagons https://www.joint-forces.com/features/military-land-rovers/20394-mlr-pt-14-french-d110-station-wagons ↗