Hawkei makes European debut

• After the success of Bushmaster, Thales introduces its new Protected Light Mobility Vehicle

(June 14, 2010) -- Thales is pleased to announce the European debut of its Hawkei Protected Light Mobility Vehicle on display as the centrepiece of the Thales stand at the Eurosatory 2010 exhibition in Paris France.

The Hawkei, developed by Thales in Australia, is a highly mobile, 7-tonne light protected vehicle that can carry up to six soldiers and incorporates high levels of blast, ballistic and fragmentation protection in response to the growing operational threat posed by mines, and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
Providing a tactical advantage, the Hawkei's unique open architecture enables full integration with a wide range of sensors, weapons, additional armour, C4I and new electronic systems.

The Hawkei's groundbreaking scalable ballistic protection technology system is designed to be easily removed for air transportation and then refitted by a two-person crew in less than 30 minutes without using specialised equipment.

Chris Jenkins, Thales Australia's CEO, said: "The Hawkei is a very capable vehicle with substantial growth potential that has attracted the attention of potential customers from around the world. The Hawkei's light weight, flexibility and ability to be integrated with a wide range of systems make it an excellent candidate for many armed forces' light protected vehicle requirements today and into the future."

"It also offers impressive survivability, with the highest levels of protection of any vehicle in its weight class."

"Hawkei is a next generation solution underpinned by battle proven experience from Bushmaster. We are confident the Hawkei will establish the new benchmark in Light Protected Vehicles rendering obsolete the technology used in the competing vehicles. "

The Hawkei follows on from the highly successful Thales Bushmaster vehicle, and is backed by the combined expertise of Thales and world class partners Boeing Defence Australia, PAC Group and Plasan - Thales's exclusive partner for Australia's LAND 121 Phase 4 program and the leading provider of combat-proven armour solutions.

Source : Thales Group (Paris: HO.PA)