Bushmaster Burnout

Bushmaster Burnout

July 12, 2012: Australia is getting another 214 Bushmaster armored trucks. Some will be used for M777 155mm towed artillery (some to tow the guns, others to carry the command and control troops), while most will go to replace some of the oldest Bushmasters (acquired seven years ago) that have been damaged or worn out in service (especially in Afghanistan). With this order, Australia will have bought 1,052 Bushmasters.

In addition to buying more of the vehicles, those already in service have undergone several upgrades. For example, last year Australian Bushmasters in Afghanistan were upgraded with shock absorbing flooring material and seats. These blast absorption panels are actually a multilayer shock absorber that limits most of the blast shock from a bomb. Thus there are fewer casualties inside the vehicle, and troops are more quickly able to respond to the attack. The panels result in fewer casualties overall, and fewer severe injuries. The panels also act as sound-proofing and provide a more comfortable ride in general. These panels have long been used in boats, athletic equipment, combat helmets, factory floors and athletic equipment. Over the past seven years, the panels have found their way into more military applications.

Costing $1.3 million each, the Bushmaster is based on a South African design concept, with a V shaped underside, to deflect mine and bomb blast. The 4x4, 15 ton vehicle has a crew of two and carries eight troops in an armored box. The vehicle is protected against 12.7mm machine-gun bullets, and bombs and mines containing up to 9.8 kg (21 pounds) of explosives. Reactive armor can be added for protection from RPGs. The vehicle has a top road speed of 125 kilometers an hour and a max road range of 1,000 kilometers. Lots of bulletproof glass is used, and in the troop compartment, there are firing ports under the windows. The vehicle carries a gun ring, on a hatch near the front of the crew compartment, which can mount a 5.56mm or 7.62mm machine-gun. The vehicle is a comfortable ride and Bushmasters are popular with the troops. The Netherlands, Britain, Spain and France have also bought the Australian made vehicle.


http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htarm/articles/20120712.aspx

Nemo me impune lacesset,

---

"The chief aim of all government is to preserve the freedom of the citizen. His control over his person, his property, his movements, his business, his desires should be restrained only so far as the public welfare imperatively demands. The world is in more danger of being governed too much than too little. It is the teaching of all history that liberty can only be preserved in small areas. Local self-government is, therefore, indispensable to liberty. A centralized and distant bureaucracy is the worst of all tyranny. Taxation can justly be levied for no purpose other than to provide revenue for the support of the government. To tax one person, class or section to provide revenue for the benefit of another is none the less robbery because done under the form of law and called taxation." John W. Davis, Democratic Presidential Candidate, 1924. Davis was one of the greatest trial and appellate lawyers in US history. He also served as the US Ambassador to the UK.