Article Posted on : - May 27, 2010

Hawkei Light Protected Vehicle of Thales Australia. Photo: Thales Australia

PARIS (BNS): Australian Department of Defence (DoD) has shortlisted Hawkei Light Protected Vehicle of Thales Australia for the next stage of LAND 121 Phase 4 program.

The Australian DoD will replace the Army’s Land Rover fleet with the new protected vehicles.

“Thales and our partners are already fully mobilised and well advanced with the vehicle proving program. Our next series of vehicles are already under construction, and we are on track to meet the ambitious timetable to deliver prototypes for Army testing by the end of the year,” Chris Jenkins, Thales Australia’s CEO, said in a company news release.

The vehicle has been tested for more than 10,000 kilometers, both on-road and off-road, and has met all the benchmarks and exhibited high levels of reliability. The Hawkei has also successfully passed an extensive series of mine blast, side blast and ballistic protection tests for the Australian soldiers.

The Hawkei is a next generation solution designed specifically to meet the exacting requirements of the Australian DoD.

Australian troops will get tactical advantage with the Hawkei advanced features. It has a unique open architecture enabling full integration with a wide range of sensors, weapons, additional armour, C4I and new electronic systems.