Victoria wins $1.3b defence contract for 1000 new armoured Hawkei patrol vehicles to be made in Bendigo

A NEW generation of armoured vehicles to keep Australian soldiers safe will be built in Victoria after Bendigo-based Thales secured a $1.3 billion contract.

A NEW generation of armoured vehicles to keep Australian soldiers safe in war zones will be built in Victoria after Bendigo-based Thales secured a $1.3 billion contract from the Federal Government.

The Hawkei vehicles will replace the ageing Bushmasters, also built by Thales, with 1100 of them to roll off the production line starting in late 2017.

The contract will see 170 jobs created in Bendigo, and a further 60 jobs further along the Victorian supply chain.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull inspected the hi-tech vehicles at the Australian Defence Force proving ground at Monegeeta, north-west of Melbourne yesterday, where the vehicle prototypes have been tested, shot at and blown up for several years as Thales improved their design.

The contract will fund the delivery of the 1100 vehicles, along with 1000 trailers, and ongoing maintenance.

The Australian Defence Force unveils the Hawkei at the Melbourne Convention Centre in 2012.

Mr Turnbull said the Bushmaster was recognised globally as a world-leader, and no Australian had been killed while travelling in one of the larger, armoured vehicles.

The Hawkei would provide similar protection but be light enough to be transported by an Australian Defence Force helicopter.

Mr Turnbull said the priority was to keep Australian solders safe, but “there is a very big export market potential here.

“The Bushmaster, which is the larger mine-resistant vehicle which we are familiar with from Afghanistan, has been exported to three other countries,’’ he said.

He praised private company Thales for its work with the Australian Defence Force, which had included examining each Bushmaster damaged in action, and looking for improvements to the design of the Hawkei.

“The Hawkei will improve protection for soldiers and enable them to operate in high-risk areas,’’ Mr Turnbull said.

Thales Australia CEO Chris Jenkins said the vehicles and trailers would be produced over about 3.5 years.

“Hawkei is a highly capable vehicle that will serve this country well for many years to come, and we are delighted that the Department of Defence has recognised the importance of this vehicle by reaching this milestone.,’’ he said at the contract signing yesterday.

Dumped former defence minister Kevin Andrews beat the PM to the announcement, tweeting six times about it ahead of the official announcement, including that he had been the one who took the proposal to the National Security Committee of Cabinet.

I was pleased to take the #Hawkei submission to the NSC some months back, at which point it was approved #auspol pic.twitter.com/yZegzN8h5E

— Kevin Andrews (@kevinandrewsmp) October 4, 2015

ABOUT THE HAWKEI PROTECTED MILITARY VEHICLE

ABLE to withstand improvised explosive devices, mines and small arms ambushes

WEIGHS 7 tonnes

HEAVY enough to withstand blasts and ballistics

LIGHT enough to be carried underneath a helicopter

TOP speed 115km/h

4 x 4, maximum range 600km

MORE nimble than its predecessor the Bushmaster

USED as a troop carrier, and for command and control, liaison, reconnaissance, electronic warfare.

CAN take a 3-tonne payload, allowing it to be fitted with heavy weapons such as grenade launchers

[e-mail]