Defence’s $1.3bn fleet of 4WDs banned from public roads and face speed limits after fault found

The $2bn fleet of Hawkei tactical vehicles have 40km/h speed limits imposed and are banned from public roads after a new braking fault was found.

The problem with the Hawkei tactical vehicles was discovered by the French-owned manufacturer Thales Australia on Friday and is understood to affect stopping power under extreme conditions. Picture: Thales

Defence’s $2bn fleet of Hawkei tactical vehicles have had 40km/h speed limits imposed on their ­operations and been banned from public roads after a braking fault was identified with the trouble-prone Land Rover replacement.

The problem was discovered by the Hawkei’s French-owned manufacturer Thales Australia on Friday and is understood to affect the vehicle’s stopping power under extreme conditions. Checks are under way on the 1100 vehicles, with a hardware fix likely to be needed.

It follows an earlier problem with the Hawkei’s anti-lock braking system which required a fleet-wide software upgrade, and which is believed to be unrelated to the latest issue.

A Defence spokeswoman told The Australian the fault was discovered by Thales at its Bendigo factory during a routine quality ­assurance inspection on vehicles undergoing final production work. “On the afternoon of 11 November 2022, Defence imposed temporary restrictions on the use of the Hawkei fleet,” the spokeswoman said. “These restrictions include a speed limit and a prohibition on using the vehicle on public roads.

“These restrictions are precautionary measures imposed in order to ensure the safety of operators and others while the identified issue is properly investigated.”

The number of vehicles affected is not yet known, but it is understood the fault has not yet been detected on any Hawkei ­vehicles already in use with the ADF. A Thales spokesman said: “We’re working closely with ­Defence to ensure the Hawkei is introduced into service safely.”

The discovery of the fault comes just months after an unsuccessful request by the Ukrain­ian government for Australia to donate Hawkeis to support its war effort against Russia, which would have allowed the vehicles to be tested under combat conditions for the first time.

Thales recently completed production of the ADF’s full order of the light armoured vehicles, which share the V-shaped hull of the Thales-built Bushmaster ­designed to protect personnel from mines and IEDs.

Construction of the Australian-designed Hawkei vehicle at the Thales Protected Vehicles facility in Bendigo, Victoria. Picture: Department of Defence

Defence has so far accepted and paid for 874 of a contracted 1100 Hawkeis, of which 345 vehicles have been introduced into service.

The full fleet is not scheduled to be certified as fully operational until next year.

The previously identified braking issue in late 2020 prompted Defence to refuse to take delivery of vehicles until a solution was found.

The Hawkei procurement was the subject of a scathing Auditor-General’s report published after a long legal battle with Thales.

It criticised the Turnbull government’s decision in 2015 to award the company the vehicle tender without a competitive tender process, and said the commonwealth could have saved hundreds of millions if it went with the US-made joint light tactical vehicle.

“Defence has not clearly demonstrated that the acquisition provides value for money, as it did not undertake robust benchmarking in the context of a sole-source procurement,” the report said.

“Publicly available information suggests that the (non-audited) per-unit price difference between the Hawkei and the joint light tactical vehicle exceeds the price difference advised to the government.”