A long-range reconnaissance patrol, or LRRP (pronounced "lurp"), is a small, heavily armed reconnaissance team that patrols deep in enemy-held territory.
The concept of scouts date back to the origins of warfare itself. However, in modern times these specialized units evolved from examples such as Rogers' Rangers in colonial British America, the Lovat Scouts in World War One, the Long Range Desert Group and the Special Air Service in the Western Desert Campaign and North West Europe, similar units such as Force 136 in East Asia, and the special light infantry units in the Finnish Army during the Second World War.
Postwar, the role was carried in various North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and British Commonwealth countries by units that could trace their origins to these wartime creations such as the British SAS, Australia's Special Air Service Regiment and the New Zealand Special Air Service, 1er RPIMa, GCP, Groupement de Commandos Mixtes Aéroportés in France and the United States Army Rangers, Long Range Surveillance teams, and Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition squadrons.