ADI/Thales Australia Bushmaster

     Notes:  The Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle was designed as a successor to the S-600, under the Bushranger Infantry Mobility Vehicle competition; it eventually emerged as the winner of that competition, with development beginning in 1998.  The development and testing process was long, incloved, and troubled, and deliveries did not begin until 2005. The Bushmaster is based on a design originally conceived by the Irish company of Timoney; considerable portions of the Bushmaster are therefore manufactured under a licensing agreement with Timoney, though production is undertaken wholly in Australia.  ADI began the part of the design process done in Australia, but production later passed to Thales Australia, who also developed several variants.  (Virtually all of these variants differ primarily in internal arrangements and equipment; externally, almost all of the different versions differ little from each other.)  The primary users of the Bushmaster are the Australian Army and Air Force, but it is also used by the Dutch Army and British Army.  The Bushmaster was also evaluated by the US Army and Marines; though they ultimately went with another vehicle to fill their light MRAP requirement, they have not completely closed the door on Bushmaster acquisition, and Oshkosh Trucks stands ready to set up a license-production line just in case. The United Arab Emirates, Spain, and Iraq are also trialing the Bushmaster.

     The Bushmaster, like the S-600, is a wheeled APC with for the most part average protection levels for a vehicle of its type.  (Thales Australia terms the Bushmaster an Infantry Mobility Vehicle, or IMV, to underscore the role that the primary role of the Bushmaster is battlefield transport and not for troops to fight from the vehicle.) However, the Bushmaster is also an MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicle, and has a lower hull design with a V-shaped bottom designed to deflect the blast from a mine or IED away from the vehicle.  Though this design does not necessarily allow the Bushmaster to hit a mine and get away unscathed, the design offers enhanced protection to the crew and troops inside, even if, for example, the blast is enough to blow the wheels off or immobilize the suspension or damage the automotive components.  In addition to the protection afforded by the hull floor in the stats below, the crew, troops, and equipment inside a Bushmaster which hits a mine or IED have the damage they suffer reduced by 25%.  The anti-mine features are also enhanced by the Bushmaster’s high suspension and run-flat tires.  The armor of the Bushmaster is of all-welded steel, leaving no rivets to pop loose and ricochet around the interior of the vehicle upon a hit.  The armor of the Bushmaster can be supplemented by appliqué armor.

     Configuration-wise, the Bushmaster greatly resembles the S-600, though the nose is tall and flat in the front with a large grille with armored shutters in front, and a gently-sloping section back to the windshield.  The windshield is a single large piece of bullet-resistant glass; the sides of the cab have relatively small windows, also of bullet-resistant glass.  Depending upon customer requirements, the sides of the troop compartment may have up to three windows of varying sizes, and the large rear door likewise has a window of a size depending upon the wishes of the buyer.  Each side of the vehicle may have two or three firing ports; the rear door also has a firing port.  Like the S-600, spare tires are found on the sides of the hull on either side of the rear, and projecting slightly out from the rear; the rear door itself is actually quite narrow. The Bushmaster does not have a separate gunner’s position; instead, the commander in the right-hand seat mans the vehicle’s weapon.  Depending upon the role of the vehicle and the requirements of the buyer, this position may be a simple hatchway, a manually-rotating cupola, or an electrically-rotating cupola.  This position may be armed with a variety of light, medium, or heavy machineguns or automatic grenade launchers (examples are given below in the stats).  Most of the time, the commander’s position is surrounded by AV2 gun shields. In 2008, the Dutch began putting a Thales SWARM OHWS on some of their Bushmasters in lieu of the standard commander’s position, giving it a superior weapons fit with assistance from a laser rangefinder, ballistic computer, and several telescopic and night vision sighting devices.  Some Australian Army vehicles have also had a similar modification, but based on the US-made Raven CROWS OHWS; these modifications began in 2007. There are two hatches on the rear roof of the troop compartment; to the rear of each hatch is a mounting point for a pintle to allow a SAW-type weapon to be mounted (usually the Minimi in the countries which are using the Bushmaster so far); these are manned by the infantry squad in the rear.  I have included these in the stats below.  I have also included two clusters of four smoke grenade launchers on the hull roof behind the cab area, another optional feature often fitted.

     Originally, the versions in use by the Australian Army and Australian Air Force differed greatly internally, with the Army version having less space for troops and more for storage of weapons, equipment, and ammunition.  In addition, the Army version was initially fitted with a 270-liter tank internally for drinking water, and had a separate gunner’s station.  The gunner’s hatchway is normally plated over. However, the Australian Army (and those used by other countries) have since removed much of the dedicated storage and the water tank, and has drawn closer to the Security Vehicle version used by the Australian Air Force, which can carry more troops.  Of course, this has led to much troop equipment as well as some boxes containing ammunition being carried externally on the roof or sides of the vehicle.  The original IMV version and the Security Version have therefore essentially merged in design, with the Security Version now being called an IMV.  Though in the stats below, I refer to the original IMV version as the “IMV” and the version being used now as simply the “Bushmaster,” keep in mind that the old Security Version is now the standard Bushmaster version.

     The Bushmaster is powered by a Caterpillar 3126E turbocharged diesel engine, developing 330 horsepower, and coupled to a fully automatic transmission.  As stated above, the suspension is high and well-cushioned, more to provide additional mine protection for the crew and troops inside than for comfort.  This suspension, however, also gives it excellent cross-country mobility.

     Other APC-type versions of the Bushmaster include a command variant, which externally differs primarily in the extra antennas and internally has two short-range, two medium-range, and one long-range radio, the latter of which is data-capable.  It carries a ruggedized laptop computer and has simple map boards and plotting and office-type supplies for use by the command crew.  An armored ambulance version exists, able to carry four stretcher cases or two stretcher cases and three seated patients in the rear in addition to two medics, and having equipment such as an oxygen administration set, a defibrillator, the equivalent of two doctor’s medical bags and 20 personal medical kits, and various other medical supplies such as splints, bandages, cravats, etc.  The armored ambulance is unarmed.  Other non-APC variants include a combat engineer vehicle and a mortar carrier. There is also a “Direct Fire Weapons Variant,” which I have, unfortunately, have not been able to find anything about; any help here would be appreciated.

     The newest member of the family, due to enter service in late 2011 or early 2012 with the Australian Army and Air Force, is a logistics carrier version called the Armored Combat Support Vehicle (ASCV).  This version retains the cab of the standard bushmaster along with a small space behind the seats for crew equipment, but the rear is replaced by a flatbed load deck equipped with tie-down and lock-down points, and designed especially for palletized and containerized cargoes.  The cargo bed has retractable rollers in it, and ramps are carried to help roll the pallets or containers off of the cargo bed.  The ASCV is also equipped with a small crane along a “wall” against the rear of the cab which has a capacity of three tons.  The lower hull retains the V-shaped bottom and the cab contains the same anti-mine protection for the crew.  Above the commander’s position is a ring mount for a machinegun or grenade launcher.  The side cab doors are smaller, but under them are steps which not only help the crew climb out of the vehicle, but they have the primary function of giving the crew somewhere to stand when operating the crane and unloading cargo.  These step/fenders also have a ladder built into them for the crew to climb down.  No appliqué armor package has been devised for the ASCV.  The rear mounts for Minimis are also not found on the ASCV.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: Only tiny amounts of the Bushmaster (only six) were fielded by the Australian Army in the Twilight 2000 timeline.  These were all of the original-configuration IMV version.

*Frontal hits are 25% likely to hit the windshield, which has an AV of 5. Hull floor AV is 6Sp, and damage to the occupants and internal equipment will be 25% less than normal (or for components, is 25% likely for them to remain undamaged or suffer only partial damage). Roof AV is 3.

** Frontal hits are 25% likely to hit the windshield, which has an AV of 5. Hull floor AV is 6Sp, and damage to the occupants and internal equipment will be 25% less than normal (or for components, is 25% likely for them to remain undamaged or suffer only partial damage). Roof AV is 3. See Notes above for crew and passenger capacity.

***Frontal hits are 25% likely to hit the windshield, which has an AV of 5. Hull floor AV is 6Sp, and damage to the occupants and internal equipment will be 25% less than normal (or for components, is 25% likely for them to remain undamaged or suffer only partial damage). Roof AV is 3. The AV values listed are for the cab only; the rear flatbed deck effectively has no armor from most directions, though in the event of fire from above hitting the flatbed of the vehicle, assign the flatbed deck an AV of 2 before hits go on to the suspension.

Shorland/Tenix S-55

     Notes:  A part of the Shorland 5-Series, the S-55 is a development of the original British Shorland Mk 3 armored patrol vehicle, which has been enlarged by basing it on the Land Rover 110 series and giving it a large, box-shaped body and slightly-improved armor. The large interior space not only increases its utility as a light APC, it also makes it useful to civilian agencies such as armored car companies, police, and news agencies and relief agencies which are operating in war zones.  The fact that it is not a large, heavily-armed vehicle also means that it has a relatively “non-threatening” appearance, making it useful as a patrol vehicle for UN peacekeeping forces.  Though Australia and Britain no longer use the S-55 in a military role, current military users include Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and several Pacific island nations. It should be noted that while the S-55 design was acquired by Tenix Defence Systems (now part of BAE Australia) in 1996, and they now make replacement parts and do repairs and refurbishment on the S-55 (they are the “point of contact” for the S-55), no actual complete S-55 production was ever done in Australia; the S-55s now in existence were actually built in Britain.

     The S-55 sort of resembles an oversized SUV, with a large, flat front end containing the engine compartment and transmission and the boxy combined cab and rear area.  Each side of the cab area has doors with bullet-resistant windows in them, and the front of the cab has a bullet-resistant windshield composed of two panes.  An option is armored shutters for the front and side windows, which have slits in them for vision.  Another option is firing ports in either or both doors and a firing port below the front window on the commander’s side.  Behind the cab is a hatch for a gunner or observer; this may be equipped with an actual rotating cupola, or be a simple hatchway.  The gunner’s position may also have a raisable seat or stand below it, or have a simple firing step or raised platform.  This position may be equipped with a pintle mount for a weapon; the sides and/or rear can also be equipped with projectors for smoke or irritant gas grenades, some of which can fire those grenades as much as 50 meters.  The S-55 has two large doors in the rear, and optionally, up to three firing ports may be placed in each side and one in each rear door.  The basic interior details include folding bench seats down either side of the vehicle; exact interior details (and even the crew and passenger capacity) vary wildly depending upon the function and role of the individual S-55.  Similarly, though not to the same extreme, exterior details can vary greatly, including extra hatches atop the vehicle, windows, loudspeakers and communications equipment, spotlights and searchlights, and smoke grenade launchers banks or clusters.  The greatest variances are actually made by the individual civilian users instead of military users.  Likewise, engines can vary, but the most common ones are a 134-horsepower gasoline engine or a 107-horsepower diesel engine.  Transmission is normally automatic, but the S-55 could also be had with a manual transmission.  Right-side and left-side drive versions were made. Even non-APC versions were made, including a carrier for MANPADS SAMs and a rare fire support version designed for convoy escort armed with multiple machineguns or automatic grenade launchers in an enlarged gunner’s position on the roof with an electrically-rotating cupola surrounded by gun shields, and the rear area largely taken up by ammunition storage.

Shorland/Tenix S-600

     Notes:  As with the S-55, Tenix did not originally design or manufacture the S-600 – it was originally a product of the British firm of Shorland before they were bought out by Tenix (and later by BAE Australia).  Shorland, while still able to market the S-55 to many countries’ armed forces and police, found that other potential customers felt that while the S-55 was almost the right vehicle, it was too small, not powerful enough automotively, and needed better protection.  This led to the development of the S-600, with production starting in 1995.  Though production stopped in 1999 after Shorland’s buyout by Tenix, Tenix restarted production in 2001 due to an order by the Belgian Gendarmerie and some other unnamed parties.  In between, the S-600 was bought Kuwait, Australia, several police and National Guard/Territorial-type units worldwide, and other unnamed parties.

     Like the S-55, both the internal and external appointments of the S-600 can vary greatly depending upon the user’s requirements.  The S-600, however, is a physically much larger vehicle based upon the Unimog 1550L/2150L truck chassis instead of a Land Rover chassis.  This provides a larger, stronger, and more robust chassis than the Land Rover 110.  The overall layout is essentially the same as the S-55, being a large, boxy armored vehicle on wheels; however, the entire vehicle is larger, the suspension higher, and the nose blunter with a more sloped hood.  The S-600 is also easily recognizable by the carriage of its two spare tires, which are on the rear sides on either side of the doors (and project out slightly from the rear on either side).  Armor protection overall is greatly improved, especially over the front arc, where it rivals or exceeds many tracked light APCs.  Improved technology has also allowed the front and side cab windows to offer protection almost equal to the rest of the front arc, and the side windows’ protection levels are equal to that of the rest of the side armor. The armor of the S-600 is also composed of all-welded steel instead of riveted steel.  The interior of the S-600 is protected by Kevlar anti-spalling panels, and add-on appliqué armor is available.  The floor armor is also given increased protection against mines and IEDs, and appliqué armor can also be added to the floor of the vehicle.  The tires are of the run-flat type.

     Two primary variants of the S-600 are available.  The Infantry Mobility version is equipped with a 214-horsepower turbocharged OM-366LA diesel engine and is primarily designed for use as a light wheeled APC; it is also normally equipped with a cupola over the gunner’s position that has a pintle mount for a weapon and is surrounded by AV2 gun shields; the pintle mount can take any sort of light, medium, or heavy machinegun, or an automatic grenade launcher (the Kuwaitis often mount a Mk 19 AGL); the weapons listed below are general representatives.  This version has internal racks for troop weapons, equipment, and ammunition, and typically has three firing ports in the hull sides and one in each rear door; an internal 100-liter tank for drinking water is also common as well as a hot plate for heating rations, as are compartments for troop rations and equipment.  It also often has additional hatches in the vehicle’s roof, ranging from two long ones to six smaller ones.  Typical equipment also includes clusters of 3-5 smoke grenade launchers on either side of the front roof of the vehicle.  (The stats below assume the most usual clusters of four launchers.)

     The Internal Security model is a bit more sparsely equipped in the rear, without the normal weapons racks and with much less space for ammunition.  It has much less storage space for equipment, and generally does not have the gunner’s cupola of the Infantry Mobility version.  This is due to its role as a police vehicle, and it is often used to deploy SWAT, SRT, or riot control teams to hot areas.  Though it does not have the internal appointments of the Infantry Mobility version, it carries a much larger police team than the Infantry Mobility version’s troop squad.  Though the Internal Security version may have a cupola, it is not normally armed; normally, only an observer’s hatch is fitted. The engine requirements are also less than the Infantry Mobility version; the Internal Security model has less powerful version of the Infantry Mobility model’s engine, the OM-366L, which develops only 156 horsepower.  Only one fuel tank is carried instead of two. A modified form of the smoke grenade launchers are normally retained, and can be used to fire smoke or irritant gas grenades of the standard type found in most police departments, or tailored for the grenades found in a particular police department.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: This vehicle can be found in various places in the world in the Twilight 2000 timeline, though normally in small numbers; the largest users were the Kuwaiti National Guard, who had 22 of the Infantry Mobility version at the start of the Twilight War.  Most other users are police forces (but not the Belgians in the Twilight 2000 timeline), and the individual departments using them in a given city or small country might have only one or two of them depending on the size of the police department.

*Frontal hits are 25% likely to hit the windshield, which have an AV or 4.  Floor armor is 4.

**Frontal hits are 25% likely to hit the windshield, which have an AV or 4.  Floor armor is 5.