Oshkosh to offer Bushmaster in US

US military truck giant Oshkosh Truck Corporation has announced a licensing agreement with ADI Limited to market, manufacture and support the Bushmaster Infantry Mobility vehicle (IMV) in North America as well as countries eligible for US Foreign Military Sales.

There are currently over 100 Bushmaster vehicles in service with the ADF, several of them deployed with the Al-Muthanna Task Group in southern Iraq. An additional 200 vehicles are under production at ADI's Bendigo facility.

Oshkosh has teamed with ADI to bid for the medium and heavy elements of Project land 121 - Overlander.

"The Bushmaster provides Oshkosh Truck with an even greater ability to support our customer through a wider spectrum of conflict", said John Stoddart, Oshkosh's executive vice president and president, defence. "As threats and the nature of conflict have evolved, the need for vehicles offering greater safety has grown. This vehicle can meet that need by not only improving troop safety, but delivering the level of performance the military expects."

Oshkosh plans to manufacture Bushmaster vehicles at its defence manufacturing facility in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and can support significant volumes of Bushmaster vehicle production if required. ADI's Bendigo facility will work in conjunction with Oshkosh Truck to support any increase in demand.

Steps are also being taken to integrate components currently used on Oshkosh Truck's fleet of military logistics vehicles. This will increase parts commonality between the Bushmaster and vehicles currently used by the US military, making it easier and less expensive for the US military to supply logistics to a Bushmaster fleet. Oshkosh Truck is already providing logistics support to the Australian Bushmaster fleet in Iraq and Afghanistan through its global parts and service network.

By Gregor Ferguson, Adelaide