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NEWS
Thales Bushmaster production hits four digits
1000 units of Aussie-built protected mobility vehicle have now entered service around the worldThere's one vehicle manufacturer in Australia showing no signs of stress in the current market environment, and that's despite building just 1000 vehicles since 2004.
But when that vehicle is an advanced military platform for the transport of up to 10 troops in combat zones, the normal criteria don't apply.
Built by Thales Australia at the company's Bendigo plant, the Bushmaster has been a success story for Australian manufacturing. Originally designed in Ireland, the Bushmaster has proved its mettle in the heat of Afghanistan and its achievements there prompted the Royal Netherlands Army to place an urgent order with Thales for the delivery of 25 vehicles back in 2006, to support the Dutch troops already operating at that time in the Afghan theatre.
Powered by a 7.2-litre Caterpillar engine coupled to a ZF Ecomat 6HP502S transmission, the Bushmaster drives through all four wheels and at GVM weighs 15 tonnes. Maximum speed is governed to 100km/h, and the Bushmaster boasts a range of 800km.
A retarder fitted to the transmission can restrain the fully laden Bushmaster at marching pace on 60% descents without using the brakes. And the Bushmaster will ford streams at depths of up to 1.2m without special preparation.
It has been so successful on the battlefield due to its V-shaped hull, which deflects blasts from mines and the improvised explosive devices that have been so effective used against other vehicles.
Thales is working on single and dual-cab load-carrying models of the Bushmaster, in addition to the smaller, five-man Hawkei, which is also entering service with the Australian Defence Forces and is powered by a 3.2-litre Steyr engine matched to a ZF 6HP automatic much like that found in Ford's Falcon and Territory.
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