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The next tranche of Australian-built Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles is due to be exported to Japan in the coming months.
Speaking at the Japan-Australia Business Co-operation Committee Lunch, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull confirmed the Bendigo-built vehicles will make their way to their new home shortly to join the four Bushmasters already in service in Japan.
"Over the next few months, Thales Australia will ship another tranche of four Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles from Bendigo," Prime Minister Turnbull said.
"These are the vehicles of which there are four already in service of the Self-Defense Force, Ground Self-Defense Force, and Prime Minister [Shinzo] Abe and I inspected one of them at the Narashino Base."
Thales Australia built and supplied four Bushmaster vehicles to Japan in 2014 at a cost of around $3.6 million. The combination of the eight vehicles represents Australia's biggest defence export deal to Japan.
The Bushmaster vehicles are produced by Thales Australia and have been in operation since 1997 for the Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Netherlands Army, British Army and the Jamaica Defence Force.
The vehicles are lightly armoured and provide protected mobility transport for infantry dismounting from the vehicle before going into action.
While in Japan, prime ministers Turnbull and Abe also agreed to have fighter aircraft conduct joint military exercises, including some in Darwin.
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