DTARMOR HAWKEI

The Hawkei light protected vehicle was developed by Thales as a private venture to meet requirements of the Australian Army. It is designed to be used in combat areas or during peacekeeping operations. The Hawkei is named after a deadly pit viper. It was designed around the success of the Bushmaster mine resistant ambush protected vehicle. The Australian Army plans to replace it's fleet of Land Rovers with up to 1 300 new light protected vehicles. It is also being proposed for possible export customers.

This Hawkei provides seating for the driver, plus 4-5 men, depending on the version. This light protected vehicle can also tow a specially developed trailer.

Armor of the Hawkei was developed by Plasan of Israel. Vehicle provides protection against small arms fire, artillery shell splinters, landmines and IEDs. Vehicle has a V-shaped hull. The Hawkei can be fitted with add-on armor kit for increased protection. This add-on kit can be fitted or removed in field conditions within 30 minutes without using any special tools. The Hawkei is a smaller supplement to mine resistant ambush protected vehicles.

Vehicle can be fitted with remotely controlled weapon station, armed with machine gun or automatic grenade launcher.

This light protected vehicle is powered by a Steyr 3.2-liter turbocharged diesel engine, developing 300 hp. It is coupled with a 6-speed automatic transmission. The Hawkei has a full-time all-wheel drive. This light protected vehicle is fitted with a self-recovery winch. The Hawkei can be carried underslung by the CH-47 Chinook helicopter. Also it can be airlifted by C-130 Hercules military cargo aircraft.

The Hawkei is proposed in a number of variants including a general-purpose personnel carrier, command vehicle with a crew of three, communications vehicle with a crew of four, scout car with a crew of five, and cargo carrier with a crew of two and payload capacity of 2 500 kg.