NEW BUSHMASTER VARIANTS

8 OCTOBER 2026

PERTH: Thales Australia has revealed two new evolutions of the Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle - Medium at the Land Forces International Land Defence Exposition 2026 in Perth.

In a nod to the undeniable shift in battlefield reality away from traditional human based military manoeuvre, Thales Australia revealed the BladeHAUL Extra Large Uncrewed Ground Vehicle (XLUGV), an electrically driven semi autonomous high payload robotic logistics and weapons mobility platform derived from the Bushmaster PMV design.

The BladeHAUL is designed specifically to carry MILSTD 20 foot containers with payloads of up to 10,000kg while also acting as a high capacity forward power supply site able to support headquarters and forward medical facilities.

The most conventional of the two new Bushmaster PMV evolutions is the Bushmaster Dual Cab, a four door crew compartment with an external cargo tray reminiscent of a tradie's ute, configured to carry mobile weapons and Electronic Warfare systems near the Forward Edge of Battle Area.

While Thales Australia hasn't specifically confirmed it, the Bushmaster Dual Cab seems to include all of the physical and almost certainly the digital upgrades incorporated in its new Bushmaster 5.6 PMV-M currently in production at Thales Protected Mobility Facility in Bendigo for the Australian Army.

The Bushmaster Dual Cab on display at Land Forces International in Perth, featured a high level ballistic protection add on kit incorporating the windscreen, side door and multiple other add on armour first seen publicly with the release of the Bushmaster 5.6 Mulga two door tray back variant earlier this year.

The vehicle also fielded Thales new RapidStriker Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems defensive package with an EOS R400S Mark 2 DHD Remote Weapons Station as its primary defensive weapon system.

The RapidStriker Counter UAS is a system of systems composed of a Robin Radar Systems 360 degree surveillance radar, an undisclosed high resolution multispectral optronic/electro optical turret and advanced electronic signature detection sensors feeding into the AI augmented Thales IRIS detection, classification and weapon control digital C2 system.

RapidStriker employs both Electronic Warfare and kinetic drone defeat options, with the vehicle on display at Land Forces International employing a gun based drone defeat selection mounted in the R400S Mk2 DHD Remote Weapons Station which is certified up to 30x113mm Bushmaster M230LF cannon.

RapidStriker can also employ longer range rocket based weapons to defeat drones and is specifically configured to employ the LGR275 Proxy Laser Guided Rocket but is also compatible with the AGR-20 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS2) laser guided munition.

The Bushmaster Dual Cab employs a four armoured door entry system for passengers and driver which is said to improve crew survivability in comparison to the Australian Army's inservice fleet of Bushmaster 5 Common Configuration Protected Mobility Vehicle - Medium where vehicle entry and exit is via the rear door in the passenger compartment.

The 'next generation' Bushmaster 5.6's evolved integrated digital management system is an evolution of the C4I digital management system developed for the Hawkei PMV-Light. All digital functions on the PMV-M 5.6 digital management system are interfaced through two multifunction LED screens used by the driver and the vehicle commander. All navigation, surveillance, blue force tracking and Remote Weapons System software and vision feeds are accessed via the single screen. The single screen radically reduces clutter in the vehicle cabin.

The Bushmaster Dual Cab's public disclosure comes four months after the debut of the 5.6 Mulga utility payload variant revealed in June and ten months after the announcement of the first tranche of 300 'Next Generation' Bushmaster 5.6 Protected Mobility Vehicle - Mediums for the Australian Army.

According to Thales Australia, the Australian Army's 'next generation' Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle - Medium 5.6:
- would have an increased capacity for personnel accommodation in an expanded payload/passenger bay;
- an increased towing capacity and rating;
- Upgraded armour (using the word stronger but with no STANAG rating revealed);
- a modified roof design capable of accommodating a broader spectrum of Remote Weapon Station based weapons and a 'roof mounted effector' capability to defeat modern threats;
- a modern digital vehicle software suite to facilitate integration of advanced sensors, communications and Electronic Warfare systems; and
- an expanded modular cabin designed to facilitate modification for mission specific equipment schedules.

The 'next generation' Bushmaster 5.6's evolved integrated digital management system is an evolution of the C4I digital management system developed for the Hawkei PMV-Light. All digital functions on the PMV-M 5.6 digital management system are interfaced through two multifunction LED screens used by the driver and the vehicle commander. All navigation, surveillance, blue force tracking and Remote Weapons System software and vision feeds are accessed via the single screen. The single screen radically reduces clutter in the vehicle cabin.

The 'next generation' Bushmaster 5.6 is compatible with the Axon Dedrone On The Move Counter-UAS capability, an integrated digital UAS Detect Track Identify & Mitigate (DTI-M) suite able to find, follow, identify and jam a broad spectrum of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) and larger drone based threats as well as cue kinetic gun or 'laser' directed energy based engagement systems.

Key visible differences to the Australian Army's inservice Bushmaster PMV-M 5 Bushmaster Common Configuration include, driver's and gunner's doors allowing access directly into the vehicle's front without transiting the passenger bay, an extended hull, the elimination of the four ballistic protected passenger bay viewing windows, the omission of the spare wheel on the rear of the hull and the hull indent it occupied and alterations to the vehicle's ballistic windscreen assembly.

The 'next generation' PMV-M 5.6 features an expanded mission bay, which has been extended to accommodate eight fully equipped dismounted combatants on blast attenuating seats with additional head height. The rear mission bay door has also been enlarged, fixing one of the old Bushmaster's most pressing deficiencies and allowing for significantly easier mounting/dismounting of the vehicle.

Ballistic protection level and base armour is reported to be upgraded with several design tweaks incorporating improvements made leveraging data gained from the more than 40 IED attacks on Bushmasters in Iraq and Afghanistan, but Thales Australia still formally lists ballistic protection of the base vehicle as STANAG 4569 Level 1.