Canberra announces $45 million contract for 15 more Bushmasters

The federal government has announced a $45 million contract for another 15 Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles to be built by Thales Australia at Bendigo, Victoria.

According to a statement from defence industry minister Pat Conroy on Tuesday, the additional vehicles “will facilitate command and control of Army’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) long-range fires regiment.” 

Bushmasters are currently in use in nine countries, are a 15-tonne protected vehicle with a four-tonne payload, and are made in variants including troop carrier command, patrol, support weapons deployment and ambulance.

“Protected vehicles such as the Bushmaster are part of the Sovereign Defence Industrial Priorities in the Albanese Government’s Defence Industry Development Strategy, and this announcement shows we are supporting the Australian defence industry to deliver our priorities,” said Conroy.

The current federal government has awarded over $200 million in contracts for an additional 93 locally-made Bushmasters since its election in May 2022.

The new contract follows another for $160 million announced in May last year.

The current and former federal governments have so far gifted 120 Bushmasters to Ukraine for its defence against the Russian invasion, which began in February 2022. 

Picture: A Bushmaster at Townsville Field Training Area, Queensland (credit TPR Dana Millington/Defence)

Further reading

14 Bushmasters bound for Fiji

Albanese announces 30 more Bushmasters for Ukraine

Canberra orders $160m in new Bushmasters