I have a feeling that we won't see it anytime soon. I think that 2 hull sections were dragged out of the Birdon shed in Henderson a few months ago & are now languishing in the open, possibly going to be scrapped. Apologies for the dodgy photo. Cheers
Interesting
Looks like some substantial work in construction so far.
This is quite a large project so conceding some time to get it right is not a bad thing.
Maybe while they work stuff out they could add another 10 m to its length to increase its cargo capacity and options
Cheers S
Dodgy…
I assumed the prototype would be in its final stages after seeing these pics on the YouTube channel over a year ago.
Attachments
One would have thought so, they were dragged out of the Echo shed maybe 3 months ago. About 2 months ago the 2 hull sections were moved by road a few blocks to up behind the Birdon shed were they've sat ever since. They can be seen from Cockburn Road aswell.
So Birdon didn’t even have to produce a working prototype, just a couple of steel hull units to win the contract?
I believe that they were originally doing it off their own back. Maybe once they won the contract, they decided not to continue with the build, especially after their original build partner Echo, was overlooked when the COA decreed that Austal was to be the builder.
Eyeball
New Member
Food for thought- If Australia and NZ ever breaksaway from Britain to become independent nations, it might encourage an Indonesian Dictator' to arise in the future who will invade Oz and NZ-
Oz/NZ have no nuke weapons, but Britain does, so the big question is whether Britain will feel obliged to come to Oz and NZ's aid if things hit the fan?..
Oz/NZ have no nuke weapons, but Britain does, so the big question is whether Britain will feel obliged to come to Oz and NZ's aid if things hit the fan?..
Amusing, but since we became independent 120-odd years ago, the danger must have passed by now.Food for thought- If Australia and NZ ever breaksaway from Britain to become independent nations, it might encourage an Indonesian Dictator' to arise in the future who will invade Oz and NZ-
View attachment 52760
Oz/NZ have no nuke weapons, but Britain does, so the big question is whether Britain will feel obliged to come to Oz and NZ's aid if things hit the fan?..
For the foreseeable future, unless (a) the situation deteriorates to an incredible degree and incredibly quickly, AND (b) Indonesians resort to human wave tactics, we're fine.
Also, the population of Indonesia is currently around 285M.
Demographics of Indonesia - Wikipedia
Indonesia Population (2025) - Worldometer
Mate, Australia and NZ are independent of pommyland (exactly when this happened is a bit vague, anywhere from nominally with the Statue of Westminister in 1931 but formally signed into Aus law 1942 and NZ law 1947 up to the Australia Act and NZ Constitution Act both of 1986 which cut any remaining legal links with the UK).Food for thought- If Australia and NZ ever breaksaway from Britain to become independent nations, it might encourage an Indonesian Dictator' to arise in the future who will invade Oz and NZ-
View attachment 52760
Oz/NZ have no nuke weapons, but Britain does, so the big question is whether Britain will feel obliged to come to Oz and NZ's aid if things hit the fan?..
Yeah, the crowns of the three nations (plus that of a certain frozen wilderness) may sit on the same head but said head has no meaningful power in any of 'em.
I think you’ll find Indonesia have enough domestic challenges looking after their own population without the challenges of seeking new territory by force..Food for thought- If Australia and NZ ever breaksaway from Britain to become independent nations, it might encourage an Indonesian Dictator' to arise in the future who will invade Oz and NZ-
View attachment 52760
Oz/NZ have no nuke weapons, but Britain does, so the big question is whether Britain will feel obliged to come to Oz and NZ's aid if things hit the fan?..
Yes they have a big population and they are in our neighbourhood.
That big population needs housing feeding infrastructure services of education and health plus much much more that are more of a priority domestically than taking on small first world islands.
So yes we will keep an eye on that region because as we know from history a threat can come either from or through that part of the world.
Cheers S
Eyeball
New Member
Germany was on its knees after WW1 but within 14 years Adolf had got it back on its feet and soon began throwing his weight around Europe, so if he could do it, perhaps a future 'Indonesian Fuhrer' could too..
An interesting article from Youtube on Microwave weapons for use against drones ,an argument would easily be put as more dependable than laser or many other kinetic weapons ,I understand the U.S.M.C and U.K forces are trialing these , is this something the A.D.F should be assessing?
I don’t know the answer, but Counter -Unmanned Aerial Systems are a must have in this age.
A non kinetic solution will no doubt be part of the mix to combat small platforms either individually or en masse.
Id speculate the ADF are looking at this space
Whether they action upon their findings I cannot say.
Money appears tight so I’m not hopeful.
Realistically anywhere we send an armoured vehicle,be it a Hawke , a MBT or any sized vehicle in between ; C-UAS will be a requirement from the light end to the heavy end of operations.
what does that look like?
A system on every vehicle?
Or a dedicated C-UAS asset protecting Troops or Squadrons of larger force compositions of vehicles.
A complex answer of time ,money, evolving technologies training, doctrine, culture and even more money
Cheers S
This article suggests that the Bushmaster will have an incorporated electronic warfare system to counter drones , Im not sure if this will be able to counter the drones with optic fibre drones that can easily reach thirty kilometres from the operators
www.thalesgroup.com
ICONIC BUSHMASTER PROTECTED MOBILITY VEHICLE EVOLVES AFTER SUCCESSFUL TESTS OF DEDRONE COUNTER-DRONE CAPABILITY WITH ‘IN-MOTION’ DEFENCE
Thales Australia’s iconic and combat-proven Bushmaster will become even safer and more capable following the successful integration of an advanced counter-drone capability, Dedrone by Axon, enhancing its ability to repel drone attacks while in motion.
I hope this does not turn into Army wants a dog (redback) govt buys a cat ( modified bushmaster) cat can't do what dog can, govt hires expert to train cat.....govt buys two more cats.....lowers standard.....ends up buying dog when dog is now very old....This article suggests that the Bushmaster will have an incorporated electronic warfare system to counter drones , Im not sure if this will be able to counter the drones with optic fibre drones that can easily reach thirty kilometres from the operators
ICONIC BUSHMASTER PROTECTED MOBILITY VEHICLE EVOLVES AFTER SUCCESSFUL TESTS OF DEDRONE COUNTER-DRONE CAPABILITY WITH ‘IN-MOTION’ DEFENCE
Thales Australia’s iconic and combat-proven Bushmaster will become even safer and more capable following the successful integration of an advanced counter-drone capability, Dedrone by Axon, enhancing its ability to repel drone attacks while in motion.
I imagine that Bushmaster would not be a good solution across all brigades as all of the tracked vehicles (many with turrets and advanced sensors) are in 3 BDE but RAAF Air Defence Guards also use Bushmaster don’t they?
Yes, the RAAF do use Bushmasters; I think around a dozen were originally procured. Slightly modified, with an extra weapons station, if I remember correctly (?)
PS: "ADG's" is not an official mustering anymore; RAAF security forces (SECFOR) has, and is undergoing restructuring and renaming. I don't think old 'Adgies' are too happy about that!