Bendigo built Bushmaster hybrid the "StrikeMaster" might win a lucrative government contract to help defend Australia.
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00:00So, a Bendigo built military truck is going up against a US industrial giant, so Talas
00:08and Krongsberg Defence want to build a Strikemaster.
00:11This is what it is, it's kind of like a prototype Bushmaster with a rocket launcher on the back.
00:18You might have heard of Bushmasters, they are made in Bendigo, they can carry troops
00:22and withstand explosions thanks to their armoured hulls.
00:27So the Aussie military wants to decide between this truck and a US one, one made by Lockheed
00:32Martin and it's a HIMARS launcher.
00:36That vehicle has been proven in combat, they can fire next gen munitions missiles from
00:41anywhere between 15 and 500 plus kilometres.
00:45So Strikemasters are somewhat proven in that the combination of technologies that are being
00:51used are already used, so the missiles are based on a Norwegian system, the vehicles
00:58themselves are made out of an Australian system that's already used.
01:03So who's going to win this contract?
01:05It's too early to say, in December 2024, here's what member for Bendigo, Lisa Chesters, says.
01:12So where to from here is that both the preferred projects, the proponents will put forward
01:20their best bid to the government in due time and the government will make a decision about
01:26which of the preferred projects it would like to purchase.