Thales,
The Netherlands Ministry of Defence has ordered 13 new Bushmasters from Thales.
The first vehicles will be delivered in theatre by 1 October this year, bringing the total supplied to the Dutch armed forces to 49. The contract is worth over $15 million (EUR 9.2 million), and includes an option for additional vehicles to meet ongoing requirements.
Thales first supplied the vehicle to the Netherlands in 2006, and the new deal represents a significant vote of confidence in the Bushmaster’s operational performance.
“This sale demonstrates the continuing success of the Bushmaster in operations, and the trust that troops on the ground place in it,” said Chris Jenkins, managing director of Thales in Australia, where the Bushmaster is produced.
“The Bushmaster offers a unique combination of enhanced protection, mobility and capacity, and has proven its worth with Australian and Dutch forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is a highly versatile modular platform for many different integrated systems and capabilities.
“We are continuing to examine other export opportunities for this world-class product.”
Thales is a leading international electronics and systems group, addressing defence, aerospace and security markets worldwide. Thales’s leading-edge technology is supported by 22,000 R&D engineers who offer a capability unmatched in Europe to develop and deploy field-proven mission-critical information systems. Thales employs 68,000 people in 50 countries with 2007 revenues of AUD19 billion.
Thales Australia is the leading defence systems and engineering company in Australia and is also present in civil sectors ranging from air traffic management to security systems and services. Employing 3,700 people in over 35 sites around the country, Thales Australia recorded revenues in 2007 amounting to over AUD1 billion.
