$75million upgrade for Bushmasters

Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy has announced government approval for a land-force-level electronic-warfare project valued at nearly $75million.

FILE PHOTO: Australian soldiers on patrol in Afghanistan aboard a Bushmaster. Photo by Corporal Bernard Pearson.

The Project Land 555 Phase 6 will modify existing Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles and install electronic-warfare systems into these vehicles.

Minister Conroy said the systems would improve the Australian Defence Force’s ability to monitor and control the electronic environment and, where necessary, deny or degrade the electronic systems of adversaries.

“The government is committed to increasing the ADF’s ability to operate and fight in complex electromagnetic environments,” Mr Conroy said.

“This new capability will give our land force a better range of options to continue to pursue our interests in our region and deter, defeat and deny attacks and threats against Australia.

“The project will complement air and maritime force-level electronic-warfare systems, further enhancing these capabilities when deployed in combination as a joint force.”

Mr Conroy said the government had awarded delivery of the project to Raytheon Australia.

“Australian industry will be involved in supply, training and maintenance support,” he said.

“This project will inject more than $46million into Australian industry, contributing to strengthening our sovereign defence industrial base, supporting delivery of multiple sovereign industrial-capability priorities and growing the skills of our local workforce.”

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