Reconnaissance vehicle in search involving wild cat (5,3)
I believe the answer is:
scout car
'reconnaissance vehicle' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'search involving wild cat' is the wordplay.
'search' becomes 'scour' (scouring is a kind of searching).
'involving' is an insertion indicator.
'wild' indicates anagramming the letters.
'cat' anagrammed gives 'tca'.
'scour' enclosing 'tca' is 'SCOUT CAR'.
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for scout car that I've seen before include "Fast armoured vehicle" , "reconnaissance vehicle" , "Military patroller" .)