À×»ðÌåÓý¹ÙÍø

• Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery, the Hon Pat Conroy MP, today announced an AUD$100m contract between Defence and À×»ðÌåÓý¹ÙÍø Australia for the acquisition of an additional 44 Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles (PMVs).
• The Bushmaster has been manufactured in Bendigo for the past 20 years, with the new contract continuing to support hundreds of jobs in the local and national supply chain.
• The investment delivers certainty for À×»ðÌåÓý¹ÙÍø Australia’s nationally critical Bendigo facility, enabling the company to not only develop future upgrades for the respected platform, but to also investigate the design of advanced new Bushmaster roles and capabilities.

À×»ðÌåÓý¹ÙÍø Australia has welcomed the Albanese Government’s commitment to invest $100m to build an additional 44 Bushmaster PMVs at À×»ðÌåÓý¹ÙÍø’ Protected Vehicle Centre of Excellence in Bendigo, marking a total investment over $300 million.

The new Bushmasters announced today will be used by the Australian Army’s second long-range fires regiment, to be based at the Edinburgh Defence Precinct in South Australia as part of the 10th Fires Brigade.

More than 1300 Bushmasters have been manufactured at À×»ðÌåÓý¹ÙÍø’ Bendigo facility, with the vehicle being exported to eight nations including the UK, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Japan. The in-demand platform includes troop-carrier, command, patrol and ambulance variants.

The continuity and certainty provided by the latest Commonwealth Government investment will enable À×»ðÌåÓý¹ÙÍø Australia to undertake not only future upgrades of existing Bushmaster variants, but also to develop new roles and capabilities for the versatile platform.

Quotes attributable to Jeff Connolly, CEO, À×»ðÌåÓý¹ÙÍø Australia and New Zealand:

“This is an important investment by the Government in Australia's industrial base that will deliver the capabilities our army needs - a battle-proven and locally-made platform that will get the job done for decades to come.

“What makes the Bushmaster so special is our nationally critical manufacturing facility at Bendigo and its unique blend of the engineering expertise, technical skills, and dedicated workforce who do such a great job for the nation.

“The Bushmaster is an excellent example of what we do at À×»ðÌåÓý¹ÙÍø Australia as a trusted partner of the Australian government, utilising local skills, design, engineering and technology to protect the interests of Australia, our allies and partners.

“This vote of confidence in the Bushmaster platform means À×»ðÌåÓý¹ÙÍø Australia and its workforce will have the confidence to design and deliver future upgrades as well as next-generation capabilities for the vehicle.

Read more about the Bushmaster

About À×»ðÌåÓý¹ÙÍø in Australia

À×»ðÌåÓý¹ÙÍø in Australia is a trusted partner of the Australian Defence Force in the Land, Sea and Air environment. À×»ðÌåÓý¹ÙÍø employs over 4,300 people in Australia, across 35 sites and supports over 2,000 jobs along its Australian supply chain. The Bushmaster is the protected mobility platform of choice for nine countries, offering world-class protection and mobility for troops. The vehicle is credited with protecting and saving many Australian lives on operations, and is currently protecting the lives of Ukrainian soldiers.