Green light for Hawkei

Thales Australia’s Hawkei light protected vehicle has won Government funding for further development.

Thales Australia CEO, Chris Jenkins welcomed the announcement by the Minister for Defence, Stephen Smith, that Hawkei had been down-selected under the LAND 121 Phase 4 program.

“This is a fantastic achievement for our engineering and production team, our partners and the 120 Australian firms that are part of our manufacturing supply chain,” he said.

“Up against the best vehicles in its class from US and European manufacturers, the Thales Hawkei has come out on top, which is a great vote of confidence in the skills of Australian defence industry.

“Subject to further discussions with the Commonwealth, the development contract announced today will enable us to take the prototype through to a production-ready vehicle that fully meets the specifications set by the Australian Army.

“It is a truly innovative, highly mobile, highly protected, 7-tonne vehicle, with in-built vehicle systems to make it a real fighting platform for Australian troops.

“The Hawkei has been developed with Vehicle Electronic Architecture to be mission system ready.

“We will work closely with Defence through the further development of the Hawkei to ensure it meets their needs. Our international and local partners including Plasan, Boeing, PAC Group and many Australian SMEs will be vital to this project.

“Today’s decision also makes it possible for Thales to pursue export opportunities for the Hawkei.

“We have already achieved more than $100m in Bushmaster export sales, and the new Hawkei vehicle has great export potential, with a design that meets the needs of a wide range of military forces.”

Mr Jenkins also welcomed the Minister for Defence’s commitment to the Bendigo protected vehicle manufacturing capability and the skills of its workforce as “an important national security capability”.