The Australian government has announced its delivery of extra 20 Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles (PMVs) , 14 M113AS4 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), 60 pallets of medical supplies, radiation monitoring and personal protective equipment to Ukraine to help it fend off Russian attacks. Australia has already delivered to Ukraine anti-armor weapons, ammunitions, 20 Bushmaster 4×4 armored vehicles, and M777 155mm towed howitzers. The first batch of Australian Bushmaster 4×4 armored vehicles for Ukraine were delivered in April 2022. The A$60.9 million ($42.87 million) in new support for Ukraine takes Australia’s total contribution to date to over A$285 million (A$ 200.64 million).
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 with a support contract provided by Oshkosh Truck following the 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.
The M113 Armoured Personnel Carriers have provided the Australian Defence Force with a protected mobility and armoured fighting capability since the Vietnam War. The M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier (APC) that was developed and produced by the FMC Corporation. This version was upgraded from the Vietnam-era M113AS1 and includes an electrically powered turret, day/night weapon sights, a new engine, steering controls, drive train, electrical and fuel systems as well as a newly designed internal layout to accommodate safe stowage in a variety of situation. Individual variants of the M113 are fitted with specialist equipment.
The Australian M113 family of vehicles includes seven variants the APC, Armoured Fitters, Armoured Recovery Vehicle Light, Armoured Ambulance, Armoured Mortar, Armoured Command Vehicle and Armoured Logistic Vehicle. The diverse family of M113 vehicles provides an essential capability for maintaining and supporting armoured assets in the field with minimal logistic support. The M113 incorporates armour resistant to small arms fire, ballistic plating for mine blast protection and spall curtains to maximise passenger survivability. The M113 AS4 will be replaced in coming years by the Infantry Fighting Vehicle capability being delivered under Project LAND 400 Phase 3.
