Australia Sends Military Trainers and Armored Vehicles to Help Ukraine

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Wednesday that his government will send military trainers and 30 Bushmaster armored vehicles to assist Ukrainian forces against the Russian invasion.

“Australia has been unequivocal in its bipartisan support for Ukraine and its condemnation of President Putin. We will continue to stand up for freedom and democracy,” Albanese declared.

According to Australia’s ABC News, up to 70 trainers from the Australian Defense Force (ADF) will be sent to the United Kingdom to participate in a British-led multinational program called Operation Interflex. The program includes training in live-fire combat, battlefield medicine, combat engineering, psychological warfare, and urban tactics. 

Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have traveled to British military bases for Operation Interflex training, largely under the supervision of British, Dutch, New Zealander, and Canadian instructors. The 70 Australian trainers are expected to arrive in January.

“Our soldiers will be part of a large training program in the United Kingdom to help prepare their Ukrainian mates for their struggle against Russia’s unwarranted and unlawful aggression,” said Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles.

Marles said the Ukrainians specifically requested 30 more Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles (PMV), adding to the 60 they have already received. 

The Bushmaster is a blast-resistant armored four-wheel-drive transport that can carry up to ten soldiers and can be mounted with 5.56 or 7.62 machine guns, grenade launchers, or even a small cannon. It was designed to be more mine-resistant than light vehicle designs like the up-armored U.S. Humvee. The classic Bushmaster design dates back to 2004 and uses a diesel engine, but the Australian military debuted an electric model in August.

“We appreciate every dollar and every Bushmaster,” Ukrainian ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko said on Wednesday, highlighting the importance of the PMVs in Australia’s $475 million commitment to Ukraine’s defense.

“Bushmasters have performed really well on the battlefield and this extra support will make a significant contribution to the liberation of more Ukrainian territory from the invading Russian forces,” Myroshnychenko said.

Australia has also donated 28 of its venerable M113 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine, a bulkier mini-tank design dating back to the Vietnam era, plus six M777 towed howitzers.

Myroshnychenko has also lobbied the Albanese administration to send some brand-new and relatively untested gear to Ukraine, cheekily offering to let the Ukrainian military serve as “guinea pigs” for the latest hardware. 

Prominent among the cutting-edge Australian military gear Ukraine would like to field-test is the Hawkei Protected Mobility Vehicle, a new four-wheel drive troop carrier that is not scheduled to become part of Australia’s operational inventory until next year.

“The Hawkeis are really impressive: they’re smaller, they’re faster, they’re nimble and they’re brand new,” Myroshnychenko said after visiting the plant where the new vehicles are made.

“In my mind, we could make use of 30 of those to test them in the battlefield, see how they perform and we’ll provide invaluable feedback to the Australian Defense Forces for you to improve those vehicles,” he said.

The Hawkei, which is said to be simultaneously named in tribute to the late Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke and a species of death adder, is smaller than the vaunted Bushmaster, keeps a much lower profile, and carries only six soldiers, but it boasts more advanced electronics, remote-controlled weapons instead of turret mounts, and even better blast protection. 

The Hawkei is designed to be easily carried and rapidly deployed by cargo aircraft and helicopters. Deployment of the Hawkei is running behind schedule because some of the early units had problems with their brakes, a setback that sparked some controversy in Australian Defense Force circles this year.