Bushtec Solutions, part of the Canvas and Tent Group, launched 12 new products at Africa Aerospace & Defence 2026, held at Waterkloof Airforce Base in September. The launch was anchored by the campaign theme, “The Value of Experience”, referencing the company’s more than 55 years of engineering heritage across seven continents and over 1 000 projects in 80 countries.
The 12 new systems span fitness, command, water, power, shelter, maintenance and hygiene infrastructure, and are aimed at defence, humanitarian, disaster relief, mining and government clients across Africa and the Middle East. Each product was developed within Bushtec’s F.H.A.K.D.A.S. (Fitness, Health, Accommodation, Kitchen and Dining, Ablutions and Services) integrated systems framework, which the company uses to deliver complete operational environments rather than individual structures.
“Our objective is to deliver complete capability packages rather than standalone products,” says Martin Bester, director of Business Development at Bushtec Solutions. “Through the F.H.A.K.D.A.S. framework, we address the complete lifecycle requirements of deployed personnel and operational bases. That is what positions Bushtec beyond the traditional perception of a tent and shelter manufacturer.”
Shelter and Maintenance
The shelter and maintenance line includes four exceptional solutions:
The flagship new UAV Shelter System, called the Pegasus, is purpose-built to protect unmanned aerial systems and supports maintenance, pre-flight inspection and mission preparation in a single covered facility. It is currently developed around an 8-metre wide configuration, with the design scalable to 16m for larger platforms.
“When you consider the cost of UAV assets, you potentially have millions of dollars’ worth of assets that often are not properly sheltered. The Pegasus provides the right protection for this high-tech equipment. It is worth investing in the shelter to protect your assets and create a comfortable environment for servicing and maintenance,” Bester says.
The Uprated T-Series Shelter Range, including the T40, adds an external solar shade flysheet, thermal inner liners, full electrical integration and air-conditioning capability to a proven A-frame design, at a lower acquisition cost than half-barrel alternatives.
The Hercules Shelter System is the first in Bushtec’s half-barrel range to exceed a 10m span, with length extendable in 2m increments and a choice of container-mounted or freestanding configuration. It is built for large-scale applications such as logistics warehouses and equipment storage, where conventional deployable shelters fall short on space.
The Workshop Shelter System provides an all-weather maintenance bay in widths from 4.8m to 10m and lengths up to 14m, protecting vehicles, equipment and maintenance teams from wind, rain and heat without interrupting work. It pairs directly with the Workshop Container System, a fully fitted ISO-container workshop that houses tools, spare parts, lubricants and technical support equipment, so the two together form complete maintenance capability at any location.
Fitness and Wellness
The fitness and wellness line opens with the BUSHFIT Mk II Mobile Fitness System. Designed around the understanding that physical and mental readiness directly affects operational performance, the unit supports up to 20 users simultaneously in a circuit-training layout. It ships within a standard 6m ISO container footprint, deploys in approximately 40 minutes after levelling, and runs on an integrated solar roof system for off-grid operation. The modular architecture allows additional equipment, storage or wellness modules to be added as requirements grow.
“In high-pressure environments, the physical and mental readiness of teams should be a priority,” says Bester. “The BUSHFIT Mk II is about making sure that infrastructure supports performance.”
Command and Communications
The command and communications line features the African SERCon, a soft-wall expandable redeployable container. It ships as a standard 6m ISO container footprint and expands to roughly three times its transport size on site. Electrical and plumbing systems are pre-installed, so a unit becomes operational in about 50 minutes. Clients can configure it for command centres, communications hubs, tactical operations rooms, accommodation, medical facilities or disaster response co-ordination, says Bester.
“The African SERCon solves a problem we see frequently. You arrive at a location and you need command capability, or a medical unit or accommodation – immediately. This gives you that, without the logistics footprint of a permanent structure.”
Water and Power Line
The water and power line covers two systems. The Solar Water Purification Plant System is sized to the deployment, scaling from platoon groups of around 30 personnel through to brigade-level operations. It draws from boreholes, rivers, wells and other non-potable sources and treats the water through reverse osmosis, desalination and advanced filtration to produce potable water that meets international standards. The system is containerised for transport and can integrate solar-assisted power to reduce dependence on external sources.
The Electrical Power Generation & Distribution Systems extend that self-sufficiency across the whole camp. Bushtec designs power solutions from 20kVA to 400kVA-plus, with auto-synchronised generator configurations and plug-and-play reticulation that requires no on-site electrician. Solar, wind, battery storage and hybrid configurations are all available, with the aim of reducing fuel dependency over the life of the deployment.
“Everything depends on access to clean water and reliable power,” says Bester. “If those systems fail, the camp fails. We engineer them to the same standard as the structures around them.”
Hygiene and Sanitation
The hygiene and sanitation line completes the 12 launches with three products. The New Generation Tented Ablution Facility supports up to 60 personnel per unit and integrates showers, toilets, hand wash basins, urinal facilities, water heating, ventilation, electrical installations and lighting into a single rapidly deployable structure. Multiple units can be combined for larger camps.
The Containerised Ablution Facility delivers the same essential functions within a compact ISO container configured for 20 to 40 personnel, with full plumbing and electrical integration and the redeployability that comes with a standard containerised platform.
The Converted Containerised Facilities demonstrate Bushtec’s broader container conversion capability, with the launch model configured as a fully fitted ablution unit. “Sanitation can be underestimated when a camp is being planned,” says Bester. “Get it wrong and you can affect health, morale and operational effectiveness across the whole site. These products reflect what we have learnt from deployments across many sites.
“These products were all built around real operational problems,” says Bester. “We looked at what fails in the field, what takes too long to set up, what leaves teams working in conditions that reduce effectiveness, and we engineered solutions that address those gaps directly.”
Canvas and Tent Group CEO Hans Hillebrand says the 12 launches reflect what Bushtec has built over more than five decades of working in conditions where failure is not an option. “We go beyond supplying structures to engineering operational ecosystems. From a 10-person fly camp to a 2 000-person base, our guiding principle is operational readiness without compromise, wherever our clients need to operate.”
