Hawkei takes centre stage at Eurosatory

• the Hawkei will demonstrate its next generation open architecture and systems integration capabilities

(June 7, 2010) -- Thales Australia's next generation Hawkei Australian Light Protected Vehicle is taking centre stage at next week's Eurosatory exhibition in Paris.

The Hawkei is a key feature on Thales's stand, part of a display highlighting the company's ability to provide mission critical systems and equipment to support troops on operations, and to deliver Urgent Operational Requirements.

Equipped with SOTASIP and other innovative technologies, the Hawkei will demonstrate its next generation open architecture and systems integration capabilities, as well as its ability to accommodate the future system demands of adaptive campaigning.

Chris Jenkins, Thales Australia's CEO, said putting the Hawkei on the global stage was a response to the interest the vehicle had received since its Australian launch late last year. "The Hawkei is a very capable vehicle with substantial growth potential that has attracted the attention of potential customers from around the world. While designed first and foremost for an Australian program, the Hawkei's weight, flexibility and ability to be integrated with a wide range of systems make it a viable candidate for many armed forces' future light protected vehicle requirements." "It also offers impressive survivability, with the highest levels of protection of any vehicle in its weight class."

With the combat-proven Bushmaster also on display, Thales Australia's protected mobility vehicles encompass a significant array of capabilities that provide troops with high levels of protection and mobility - a vital advantage in today's increasingly hostile operational environments.

Eurosatory 2010, taking place June 14-18, is one of the world's largest defence industry events, connecting exhibitors with visitors from around the world. The previous event in 2008 attracted 1,210 exhibitors from 52 countries, and was visited by more than 52,000 people from 131 countries, including 117 official delegations and 4,500 armed forces representatives from 86 countries.

The Hawkei is Thales Australia's proposed solution to the Australian Department of Defence's LAND 121 Phase 4 program to acquire 1,300 new light protected vehicles to replace the current Land Rover fleet.

Source : Thales Group (Paris: HO.PA)