The federal government will purchase 40 additional Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles to augment the Australian Defence Force (ADF) fleet. French-owned company Thales won the $100 million (US$62 million) contract.
The vehicles gained worldwide prominence after Australia donated over 100 to Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Thales has already built over 130 Bushmasters for the Australian Army, worth over $300 million.
The new contract provides the company with certainty over the future of its Bendigo site until the end of 2026, after it was forced to make staff redundant when government contracts ended in 2022.
Defence Industry and Capability Delivery Minister Pat Conroy said the contract was part of the government’s response to the regional arms race and increasing strategic uncertainty.
“We need to deter anyone who has any thought of threatening Australia. The best way of doing that is to let them know we have the weapons and the range to strike back,” he said.
“The Bushmaster vehicles will contribute to the acceleration of a land-based long-range strike capability for the Army. It’s the best armoured truck in the world. We’ve seen it save lives in the Middle East and it’s saving lives in Ukraine right now.”
May Be Used as Missile Platforms
The additional vehicles would be used by the Army’s second long-range fires regiment. They will be based at the Edinburgh Defence Precinct in South Australia and support a multi-mission phased array radar battery to provide critical command and control functions.The government is currently running a tender to install missiles on army vehicles, with the Bushmaster one possibility as a launch platform. Conroy said that decision would be made by the end of the year.
“We’re expanding the Australian Army and equipping it with long-range strike capability. We’re moving the army from having a range of 40km to having a range of over 500km,” he said. Missile stockpiles were also being added to.
In October, Thales was referred to the National Anti-Corruption Commission following a report by the Auditor-General, which found that a former Defence Department official had given the company confidential information ahead of a billion-dollar munitions deal in 2016. In return, the official received a bottle of champagne and had subsequently been employed there.
There have also been issues with the Thales-made Hawkei vehicles, with braking issues causing the rollout to be delayed.
