The Hawkei is an Australian light four-wheel-drive protected mobility vehicle. Originally designed in 2010 to meet an Australian Defence Force (ADF) requirement for a light armoured patrol vehicle to replace some of its Land Rover Perentie variants. The Hawkei is a highly mobile, highly protected, 7-tonne vehicle, with inbuilt systems to allow it to be used as a fighting platform.[2] It has been developed with Vehicle Electronic Architecture to be mission system ready.[3]
Hawkei | |
---|---|
Type | Multirole armoured car |
Place of origin | Australia |
Production history | |
Designer | Thales Australia Boeing Australia Plasan |
Designed | 2010 |
Manufacturer | Thales Australia |
Produced | 2016—present |
Variants | See Variants |
Specifications | |
Mass | 7,000 kg (15,432 lb) (kerb), 10,000 kg (22,046 lb) (GVM) |
Length | 5,780mm |
Width | 2,396mm |
Height | 2,300mm |
Crew | 4-6 |
Armor | Greater than STANAG 4569 (Level 1). Additional applique armour provided by Plasan composite and V-shaped monocoque hull |
Main armament | Manned weapon mount up to 12.7mm HMG or 40mm AGL or remote weapon system up to 12.7mm HMG or 40mm AGL or ATGM[1] |
Engine | Steyr M16 six-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine. 200 kW (268 hp) @ 4,000rpm 610 N⋅m (450 lb⋅ft) @ 2,000rpm |
Transmission | ZF 8-speed automatic |
Suspension | AxleTech 3000, fully independent suspension, coil and double wishbone |
Fuel capacity | 200 L (53 U.S. gal) |
Operational range | 600 km (373 mi) |
Maximum speed | 130km/h (81 mph) |
Steering system | Power-assisted |
It is intended to undertake a range of mission profiles, including troop movement, command and control, electronic warfare, liaison, surveillance and reconnaissance.[4] Prime contractors include: Thales Australia, Boeing Australia, Plasan (Israel) and PAC Group. In October 2015, the Australian Government announced the purchase of 1,100 Hawkei vehicles from Thales Australia.[5]
As part of a wider project to replace the ADF's fleet of operational support vehicles, Project Land 121 Phase 4 – Protected Mobility Vehicle (Light) or PMV-L, is a requirement for up to 1,300 specialised light armoured vehicles to replace some of the in-service Land Rovers. Key criteria for the project included: off-road mobility, integrated vehicle electronic architecture, substantial payloads, high levels of protection against land mines, improvised explosive devices and ballistic weapons, while being light enough to be airlifted by military helicopters. The three options considered as part of the project were:
Competitors for the MSA option included the combat-proven MOWAG Eagle IV from General Dynamics Land Systems; the British military then selected Ocelot from Force Protection; and the Hawkei offering from Thales Australia. The JLTV option included entries from BAE Systems/Navistar,[8] AM General/General Dynamics[9] and Lockheed Martin.[10]
In December 2011 the Australian Department of Defence announced Hawkei as the preferred vehicle for further development and testing under the MSA option.[3]
In October 2015, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Minister for Defence Marise Payne announced the purchase of 1,100 Hawkei vehicles and trailers at a cost of $1.3 billion with the Hawkei to be manufactured at Thales's facility in Bendigo.[11][12] The purchase includes 1058 trailers designed by Schutt Industries and manufactured by Thales at their facility in Eagle Farm.[13][14] Two variants of the Hawkei will be purchased: a 4-door variant and a 2-door utility variant.[15][16] The 4-door variant will be able to be configured using a mission-kit for three roles: Command, Liaison and Reconnaissance.[15][17] 635 4-door variants and 465 2-door variants will be purchased.[18][13]
In September 2018, the Australian National Audit Office released a report which criticised aspects of the Hawkei project.[19] The report judged that Australia should have remained in the JLTV program to provide competition for the Hawkei procurement and that the Department of Defence had not kept ministers fully informed about the Hawkei program. This included not providing ministers with a study which found that there were few benefits from building the vehicles in Australia. The ANAO was unable to publish some elements of the audit after Attorney General Christian Porter ruled that publishing it would compromise national security. Thales had taken legal action earlier in the year seeking to have material removed from the report.[20] Some of the suppressed elements of the report were released in 2021 following a freedom of information request, and included material stating that the Department of Defence had been unable to demonstrate that the Hawkei represented value for money compared to the JLTV.[21]
In December 2018, the Hawkei faced reliability issues following a demonstration test conducted on 19 November 2018, delaying full-rate production.[22]
In September 2020, Defence Minister Linda Reynolds and Defence Industry Minister Melissa Price announced that the Hawkei would enter full-rate production at Thales's facility in Bendigo at approximately 50 vehicles per month.[23]
In March 2022, it was reported that delivery of the vehicle had been delayed due to issues with their brakes, only 3 months after full production had been started.[24]
All variants use the same four wheeled platform.
Dual cab with a crew of four to six, weapons system options including up to 12.7mm guns or 40mm grenade systems in various mounts with a remote operated option.[25][26]
Single-extended cab with a flat-bed cargo area measuring; L: 2,000 mm (79 in) x W: 2,400 mm (94 in). The vehicle has a crew of 2–3 and has a kerb weight of 6,800 kg (14,991 lb) with a rated cargo load of 3,000 kg (6,614 lb). The load bed is designed to accommodate four 1000mm × 1200mm (40" x 48") NATO standard military pallets or a single tricon (one-third ISO 20 ft) container.[25][27]
Dual cab with a crew of four to six, various equipment options including force protection radar, surveillance and communications systems.[28]
Dual cab manned by a crew of four to six with up to three weapon systems:[29][30]
Options included full doors, half doors, windscreen and scalable racking system for payload.[29]
The Hawkei is named after Acanthophis hawkei,[31] a species of death adder. In turn, the snake is named after former Prime Minister of Australia Bob Hawke.[32]
BAE Systems, through its U.S. Combat Systems business, along with partners Navistar Defense and ArvinMeritor, delivered three right-hand-drive, operation-configured Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) prototypes in a ceremony today in West Point, Mississippi. Each of these prototypes will be sent to Australia for durability testing that mutually supports both U.S. and Australian interests.
Test and evaluation of the RHO JLTVs includes a five-month reliability and durability test and evaluation process at the Monegeetta Proving Ground in Monegeetta, Victoria, Australia. Test-site management for GTV will be performed by General Dynamics Land Systems–Australia and supported by Australian in-country suppliers.
Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] today delivered two right hand operation Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTV), and a companion trailer, to the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps and representatives of the Australian Army for Technology Development (TD) phase assessment and testing. The two variants included a JLTV Category B Command and Control on the Move and a Category C Utility vehicle, which is designed with a focus on payload. All vehicles feature right-hand operation, but are otherwise identical to the U.S. vehicles.
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