Thales Australia positions Bushmaster for ‘mothership' role to autonomous ground systems

Thales Australia's Guardian Angel UGV photographed alongside a Bushmaster PMV. (Thales)

Thales Australia is positioning the Bushmaster 4x4 protected mobility vehicle (PMV) as a “mothership” for future autonomous land operations, a company spokesperson has told Janes .

The concept is linked to Thales Australia's Guardian Angel unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), which was unveiled in August 2026.

According to the spokesperson, Guardian Angel has undergone live-fire testing and could be deployed, controlled, and supported from Bushmaster vehicles, depending on mission requirements and the level of autonomy incorporated into the UGV.

The spokesperson said the Bushmaster 5.6, also known as the Bushmaster Mulga utility variant, has been designed with “inter-operability within complex teaming systems”, while adding that in-service Bushmasters remain “highly adaptable across the range of variants”.

The spokesperson added that the Bushmaster Mulga utility could also act “as a control node, as well as a transport platform for deploying the UGV”.

Bushmaster Mulga was unveiled by Thales Australia in June at Eurosatory 2026 in Paris, where the company presented the vehicle as the next-generation member of the Bushmaster family.

According to the Thales Australia spokesperson, the new Guardian Angel UGV is “a prototype proof of concept” developed in collaboration with local firms, Chaos 1 and W&E Platt, to demonstrate Australia's ability to develop autonomous capabilities.

The spokesperson added that lessons from the programme have since been applied to “more complex and capable autonomous platforms”.

According to the spokesperson, the Guardian Angel UGV is capable of integrating remote weapon stations and other effectors, including a W&E Platt minigun. The spokesperson added that the platform's modular design enables it to be configured for logistics, casualty evacuation, and other support roles.