The Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle or Infantry Mobility Vehicle is an Australian-built four-wheel drive armoured vehicle. The Bushmaster was primarily designed by the then government-owned Australian Defence Industries (ADI), and is currently produced by Thales Australia following their acquisition of ADI. The Bushmaster is currently in service with the Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Netherlands Army, British Army, Japan Ground Self Defense Force, Indonesian Army, Fiji Infantry Regiment, Jamaica Defence Force, New Zealand Army and the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Transportation of infantry, incorporating full protection from small arms fire, was the primary role for which the Bushmaster was designed; infantry would dismount from the vehicle, before going into action. As it was lightly armoured, the term infantry mobility vehicle (IMV) was initially used, rather than armoured personnel carrier, to distinguish the Bushmaster from heavier wheeled and tracked APCs used by the Australian Army, such as the ASLAV and M113. It was later discovered that the high-hardness steel specified for the Bushmaster meant that it generally offered better protection against ballistic weapons and IEDs than the aluminium alloys used in ASLAVs and M113s. To reflect this capability, it was later redesignated a "Protected Mobility Vehicle" (PMV).
Development
The 1991 Defence Force Structure Review identified the Australian Army's need for an Infantry Mobility Vehicle (IMV). The 1994 White Paper stated that new land force vehicles would be acquired. Project Bushranger (Land 116) was created to procure both protected and unprotected vehicles.
The Interim Infantry Mobility Vehicle (IIMV), a fleet of unarmoured vehicles similar to the Land Rover Perentie were built and purchased from British Aerospace Australia, from November 1993, to prove the concept of infantry mobility and fill the IMV role, until the IMV entered service.
In February 1994, the draft specification for the IMV was released, followed in July by the invitation to register interest, with 17 proposals received including by Australian company Perry Engineering with the Bushmaster, and by Australian Specialised Vehicle Systems with the Taipan, derived from the South African Mamba. In September 1995, the request for tender was issued to five shortlisted proposals.
In early 1996, Perry Engineering produced a prototype Bushmaster, based on an Irish designed Timoney Technologies MP44, including the Rockwell/Timoney independent suspension, and with US company Stewart & Stevenson components from the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV). Over 65% of the components by Stewart & Stevenson were from the FMTV including engine, transmission, steering, instrumentation, electrical and pneumatic systems. The prototype was built in less than seven months.
In September 1996, the Australian government-owned company Australian Defence Industries (ADI) purchased the intellectual property rights from Boral's Perry Engineering with agreement from Timoney Technologies and Stewart & Stevenson.
By January 1997, following the withdrawal of other bids, the Bushmaster and Taipan remained the only contenders for the project. That November, ADI launched its re-engineered Bushmaster proposal changing the design and shape of the hull to withstand a greater force and associated internal and external features. In March 1998, three Bushmaster IMVs and three Taipan IMVs built in South Africa started a 44-week competitive evaluation trial. Neither vehicle fully met all of the requirements of the specification, and performed with varying success over the course of the trials.
In March 1999, ADI was awarded the Bushranger contract to produce the Bushmaster at their Bendigo facility. In November 1999, ADI was privatised becoming 50% owned by French company Thales and 50% owned by Australian company Transfield. In 2006, Thales acquired the remaining 50% of ADI and renamed the company to Thales Australia.
In October 2016 it was announced that Australia and Indonesia would jointly develop a vehicle based on the Bushmaster for use by the Indonesian military. The vehicle, known as the Sanca, is manufactured by Pindad in collaboration with Thales.