The Netherlands is placing a second follow-on order for Bushmaster mine-resistant, ambush-protected infantry mobility vehicles produced by Thales Australia. The order, for an additional 13 vehicles, will bring the total number of Bushmasters ordered by the Dutch to 48, of which six have been lost in (non-fatal) IED attacks in Afghanistan.
The first Bushmaster order from the Netherlands in mid-2006 was for 25 vehicles and cost 25 million euros (almost $40 million), meeting an urgent operational requirement for protected vehicles for use in the Taleban-infested Uruzgan province in southern Afghanistan.
Photo: Netherlands MoD Ten additional vehicles were ordered in November 2007, costing 8.5 million euros. These have now been delivered.
The 13 vehicles being ordered now will cost 14.5 million euros, including extra communications equipment and spare parts, Dutch state secretary for defense Jack de Vries said on June 13.
Dutch forces in Afghanistan will operate a total of 27 of these vehicles, which de Vries says have proven their value in saving lives during IED attacks.
Separately, Thales Australia and French military vehicle builder Panhard General Defense on June 16 announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding concerning collaboration on future marketing and sales of the Bushmaster Family of Vehicles (FOV) in France.
Says Thales: "With over 470 units delivered to date, Bushmaster is a combat proven, highly protected and mobile utility vehicle. Deployed with Australian forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Dutch forces in Afghanistan, Bushmaster has successfully demonstrated its capabilities, offering greatly enhanced protection, mobility, mission flexibility, reliability and operational sustainability."
"Panhard a French manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles has supplied more than 18,000 military wheeled vehicles to 50 countries around the world. The agreement utilises Panhard’s long term expertise in the armoured wheeled market in France, and its specific market knowledge of the French customer. The introduction of the Bushmaster FOV expands Panhard’s product range and introduces Panhard to the wide range of integrated systems Thales has to offer."
Thales Australia has been designing and manufacturing the Bushmaster FOV in its Australian facility
for the last 11 years, the company says. The Bushmaster, with its V-shaped monocoque structure, is able to provide protection from a diverse range of threats including mine blast, ballistic, IED and road side bomb attacks, the company says.
Additionally this construction of the vehicle allows it to take up armoring as the mission may require.
Main reason we initially bought the splendid Bushmaster was because it was available right then and there. Borrowing Canadian RG-31s was a stop-gap and a gracious gesture from our Canadian friends, and it was actually on the top of the Dutch wishlist. Unfortunately that MRAP had a waiting list lasting two to three years. Australia offered some of its own Bushmasters, litterally sending 25 of them straight from the factory to Afghanistan. Dutch defense officials sold it to Brussels (EU HQ) by marking it a "strategic necessity", and promising that the next MRAP buying round would be conducted per open and fair European trade rules.
It was said that the batch of 25 Bushmasters was just that; a single batch and no more. No further Bushmasters - even war replacements - were to be bought. Any further MRAP type vehicles (together with the future Mercedes Benz G-wagon replacement) were to be combined in a new European project.
Positive experiences straight from the battlefield made it clear that the Dutch troops want the Bushmaster and don't want to wait another few years for a "next-gen" replacement. And it appears more and more likely that indeed the Bushmaster is to be the Netherlands MRAP, with more orders to follow.