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Weapons maker Thales loses out on multi-billion-dollar missile contract

Australia has awarded Lockheed Martin a $2.7 billion contract for HIMARS and Precision Strike Missiles, while Thales will build 268 additional Bushmasters. The Netherlands also purchased a fleet of Bushmasters, and the government committed $1.2 billion for new vehicles and upgrades.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Apr 26–28, 2026 Published Aug 15

Lead

The Australian government has awarded Lockheed Martin a $2.7 billion contract to deliver its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) system, according to ABC Australia. The decision comes just a day after Defence Minister Richard Marles and Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy visited Thales' Bendigo facility to announce a separate $1.2 billion investment in new Bushmaster vehicles.

Thales, the French arms manufacturer, had been competing with Kongsberg to supply a missile-launching variant of the Bushmaster, known as StrikeMaster. That contract went to Lockheed Martin instead.

Coverage Comparison

ABC Australia’s coverage paints a mixed picture for Thales. On one hand, the company missed out on the missile integration contract; on the other, it will build 268 more Bushmasters for the Australian Defence Force. The same reporting also highlights the international interest in the Bushmaster, including a new sale to the Netherlands.

Key Claims

Lockheed Martin won the $2.7 billion contract to deliver HIMARS and the PrSM system, as reported by ABC Australia.

Thales missed out on the contract to attach missiles to the Bushmaster vehicle; the contract was awarded to Lockheed Martin, according to ABC Australia.

Thales will build 268 more Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles for Australia, as stated by ABC Australia.

The Australian government has committed $1.2 billion toward the new Bushmasters, as well as upgrades to defence force trucks and Hawkei vehicles, reported ABC Australia.

The upgrades to medium-heavy ADF trucks and Hawkei vehicles will cost $450 million, according to the same source.

The Netherlands has bought a fleet of Bushmasters from Australia, building on its existing fleet, per ABC Australia.

The StrikeMaster was unveiled in 2022 by Thales and Kongsberg, as noted in ABC Australia’s reporting.

The new construction pipeline secures production from Thales’ Bendigo factory until 2033, according to ABC Australia.

Context

The Bushmaster has drawn international attention after Australia gifted more than 100 vehicles to Ukraine. The new Bushmasters are in addition to vehicles already being built to replace those sent to Ukraine, and also in addition to 59 vehicles diverted to the Land 8113 project, which is exploring missile-launching capability for the armoured carriers.

The StrikeMaster, developed with Kongsberg, uses a pair of Naval Strike Missiles mounted on top of the Bushmaster, capable of engaging targets on land and sea at ranges of at least 250 kilometres. Live-fire testing was conducted as recently as March.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said the $1.2 billion investment sustains local jobs and strengthens Australia’s defence industry. The Netherlands deal was announced in Bendigo, where Marles and Conroy were joined by industry representatives.

The government has not disclosed the number of Bushmasters sold to the Netherlands or the value of that sale.

Perspectives

Australian Government: Defence Minister Richard Marles emphasised the importance of local manufacturing, describing the Australian-built Bushmaster and Hawkei as “world-leading protected mobility vehicles” that support both the ADF and allied forces.

Thales: The company lost the missile integration contract to Lockheed Martin but secured a significant new order for Bushmasters, ensuring continued production at its Bendigo facility until 2033.

Lockheed Martin: The American manufacturer won the $2.7 billion contract to supply HIMARS and the PrSM system, expanding its role in Australia’s long-range strike capability.

How this outlet told it

ABC Australia as of Apr 28, 2026, 3:30 AM UTC

Framing: Thales misses out on contract, Lockheed Martin wins — Informative, with a hint of surprise at Thales' loss

Facts Included:

Thales missed out on the contract to attach missiles to the Bushmaster vehicle
Lockheed Martin won the $2.7 billion contract to deliver its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) system
Thales will build 268 more Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles for Australia
The StrikeMaster was unveiled in 2022 by Thales and Kongsberg
The Australian government announced it would spend $1.2 billion on the new Bushmasters and upgrading defence force trucks and Hawkei vehicles

Read the source article →

ABC Australia as of Apr 26, 2026, 1:01 PM UTC

Framing: Australia sells Bushmasters to the Netherlands, invests in new vehicles — Positive, highlighting the benefits of the investment

Facts Included:

The Australian government has committed $1.2 billion to build 268 new Bushmasters
The Bushmasters will be built by Thales in Bendigo
The Netherlands has bought a fleet of Bushmasters from Australia
The upgrades to the medium-heavy ADF trucks and Hawkei vehicles will cost $450 million
The new construction pipeline has secured production out of Thales' Bendigo factory until 2033

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimThales missed out on the contract to attach missiles to the Bushmaster vehicle. The contract was awarded to Lockheed Martin.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of Apr 28, 2026, 3:30 AM UTC
ClaimLockheed Martin won the $2.7 billion contract to deliver its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) system.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of Apr 28, 2026, 3:30 AM UTC
ClaimThales will build 268 more Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles for Australia.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of Apr 28, 2026, 3:30 AM UTC
ClaimThe StrikeMaster was unveiled in 2022 by Thales and Kongsberg.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of Apr 28, 2026, 3:30 AM UTC
ClaimThe Australian government announced it would spend $1.2 billion on the new Bushmasters and upgrading defence force trucks and Hawkei vehicles.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of Apr 28, 2026, 3:30 AM UTC
ClaimThe Netherlands has bought a fleet of Bushmasters from Australia.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of Apr 26, 2026, 1:01 PM UTC
ClaimThe upgrades to the medium-heavy ADF trucks and Hawkei vehicles will cost $450 million.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of Apr 26, 2026, 1:01 PM UTC
ClaimThe new construction pipeline has secured production out of Thales' Bendigo factory until 2033.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of Apr 26, 2026, 1:01 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: ABC Australia 8 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-15