Thales to export Bushmasters to the Netherlands – report

Bendigo armoured vehicle manufacturer, the French Thales group is to export six additional medical variants of the Bushmaster protected vehicle to the Netherlands, according to media reports.

The new order, worth $14 million, brings to 100 the number of Bushmaster’s operated by the Royal Netherlands Army and used in Afghanistan.

The new models will be a medivac variant of the vehicle, likely based on an ambulance variant revealed in 2014 when the latest Bushmaster MR6 model (pictured) was launched.

Bushmaster’s design is based on a “deep V-Hull” that deflects blast energy away from the crew in attacks from land mines and IEDs.

This protection has proven itself in Iraq, Afghanistan and Mali.

Now in service in eight countries, the Bushmaster is used in more than a dozen variant configurations in multiple roles.

Australian sub-contract suppliers for the vehicle include Wollongong based Bisalloy Steels, AME Systems, Melbourne based DVR Engineering and KAB Seating in Dandenong.

Pictures: Thales/Bushmaster Multi Role 6 (MR6)