On 28 July, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence and ADI limited of Australia signed a contract for the delivery of 25 Bushmaster infantry vehicles that will be deployed by the Netherlands Armed Forces for their mission in Afghanistan. The Bushmaster will be equipped with the Thales SOTAS M2 multi-media communication system, to be supplied by Thales Land & Joint Systems, Huizen, Netherlands. Thales will also supply 12 SWARM remote control weapon systems and a full logistics package for these systems. This is the first export order for Bushmaster. The Bushmasters will leave for Afghanistan end of August.

The proposal phase for this contract lasted only two weeks. The contract was awarded to ADI on the basis of the specifications of the Bushmaster vehicle and on the quick delivery time ADI could propose, thanks to the Australian Government that made these 25 units available from its own new stock.

ADI's Bushmaster vehicle has the capacity to transport 10 persons and their full marching kits. The vehicle is specifically designed to rapidly deploy battle-ready troops in all field conditions. It provides a high level of troop protection, comfort, all-terrain agility and easy maintainability.

Thales' SOTAS M2 is a full-fledged multimedia communication system for use in practically any military vehicle, between vehicles and between vehicles and command posts. It enables speech, video and data transfer and can be used to set up a local area network. SOTAS M2 noise filters ensure unambiguous communication, greatly improving safety and comfort.

Sergyi Way
04.08.2006

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