Thales Australia contract for the delivery of 6 Bushmaster armored vehicles to Netherlands.

According to the Australian Defence magazine website, Thales Australia has signed a contract with the Netherlands for the delivery of six Bushmaster armored vehicles. The vehicles are scheduled for delivery in 2021. Five vehicles will be the new medevac (Medical evacuation) variant and one will be an infantry mobility vehicle.

An Australian Army Bushmaster Ambulance is positioned within the 1st Combat Health Battalion Role One medical facility at Batemans Bay evacuation centre in support of Operation Bushfire Assist 19-20. (Picture source Australia MoD)

The Bushmaster is a 4x4 armored vehicle fully designed and manufactured by Thales Australia. The vehicle was developed in the mid-1990 by the company Perry Engineering to meet the Australian Army requirement for an infantry mobility vehicle. Australian army took delivery of the first three Bushmaster vehicles in 1998 to perform trials. The first of six preproduction vehicles was delivered late in 1999 with another five following in 2000.

Currently, the Bushmaster armored vehicle is in service with eight countries including Australia, Fiji, Japan, Jamaica, Indonesia, Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

In January 2018, a new variant of the Bushmaster called MR6 (Multi Role 6) was unveiled during the IAV (International Armored Vehicle) conference that was held in London, United Kingom. It offers improved armour protection, reliability and mobility compared to the previous version of the Bushmaster.

The Bushmaster is based on a monocoque design to offer a high level of protection protects against the blast of anti-tank mines, anti-personnel mines, mortars, improvised explosive devices. The underbody of the Bushmaster hull has been specially designed using V-hull technology to deflect mine blast. It also has ballistic protection against the firing of small arms 5.56mm and 7.62mm calibers. The vehicle can be armored to provide protection against piercing ammunition using a composite appliqué armor kit.

The Bushmaster Ambulance is in service with the Australian Army, delivering a reliable, battle proven capability that protects both the crew and transported patients. The well-equipped clinical white space is designed to facilitate on-board patient treatment and extend the golden hour for battle casualties. Designed for roles including protected casualty transport and battlefield First Aid Post, the highly mobile and operationally proven ambulance has the same ballistic and blast protection as the standard Bushmaster vehicle.

The large cabin and flexible configuration of the Bushmaster ambulance can accommodate up to 8 people. The rear part of the vehicle can accommodate a medical team, one stretcher patient and 4 seated patients. Alternatively, the 4 patient seats can be easily re-configured in minutes and without tools into a second stretcher position. All of these seating and stretcher positions offer mine blast protection.