Australian Bushmasters to receive Raytheon EW upgrade

An ADF Bushmaster (pictured above) provides protection as part of an Australian reconstruction task force convoy in southern Afghanistan. (Australian Department of Defence)

Raytheon has secured a AUD75 million contract (USD51 million) to deliver electronic warfare (EW) capabilities to the Australian Defence Force (ADF), Australia's Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy announced on 18 July.

Raytheon has been contracted to deliver a “Bushmaster protected mobility vehicle-medium based force level” EW capability to the Australian Army “under Tranche 2 of the Land 555 Phase 6 project”, a spokesperson for the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) told Janes on 18 July.

This project builds on the delivery of additional EW systems and facilities supplied to the Australian Army under Tranche 1 of the Land 555 Phase 6 project, the spokesperson said.

Under the contract, which consists of two parts, Raytheon will be providing land EW capabilities “that will complement existing systems and enhance the [ADF's] ability to deter, defeat, and deny attacks and threats”, the spokesperson added.

“The capability is anticipated to be delivered in late 2025,” the spokesperson told Janes .

Michael Ward, managing director of Raytheon Australia, told Janes on 19 July that as the prime contractor and systems integrator, the company will build a “sovereign electronic warfare ecosystem for Australia that will enable the [Australian] Army to collaborate with joint, allied, and coalition forces to provide new levels of situational awareness and effects”.

Besides delivering “electronic support and electronic attack capabilities mounted on the Bushmaster platform”, Project Land 555 Phase 6 will also be delivering “a dedicated command-and-control (C2) capability to better co-ordinate EW effects on the battlefield”, the DoD spokesperson told Janes .