Thales Australia held the dynamic field demonstration of its Hawkei PMV (Protected Mobility Vehicle) 4×4 armoured vehicle at the Military Institute of Armor and Automotive Technology (WITPiS) in Sulejówek on 18 May.

Poland is working to significantly modernise its military capabilities and is looking to initially acquire about 50 protected mobility vehicles, with follow-on acquisition programs expected to increase this figure to approximately 700 vehicles. Thales Australia with partners could take part in an upgrade of Polish Army.

The vehicle was fitted with ZSMU-1276 Remote Controlled Weapon Station. The RWCS integrated sensor unit includes a daylight video camera, a thermal imager for night operations and a laser rangefinder. The ZSMU-1276 enables to destroy lightly armored ground targets and low-flying aircraft during the day and night conditions.

The ZSMU-1276 provides the one-man crew with the ability to acquire and engage targets while inside a vehicle, protected by its armor. The installation of the RWCS does not require any significant changes in the structure of the vehicle or object. The ZSMU-12.7 have the ability to work in safe mode (with no electric supply) with manual guidance of machine gun and trigger service.

More:  Australian Army deployed Hawkei PMVs to Iraq

Hawkei is proposed in the context of the Polish Armed Forces program that has been carried out for a long time as part of the Pegaz program. This platform could also potentially serve as a vehicle for reconnaissance in artillery fire modules of the Homar system or as a carrier of heavy anti-tank guided missiles.

More: Australian Government will purchase 1100 locally built Hawkei protected vehicles

Hawkei meets the requirements of global defence forces for a highly protected, mobile and integrated vehicle able to operate in an environment under threat from Improvised Explosive Devices, mines and ambushes.

According to the armyrecognition.com, the Hawkei 4×4 light protected vehicle was designed to offer high level of protection against modern ballistic and mine explosion threats. A high level of built-in blast protection is combined with ballistic protection that can be scaled to match the operating environment.

The Hawkei vehicle is motorized with a Steyr V6 diesel engine manufactured by Steyr Motors GmbH, Austria coupled to a 8-speed automatic transmission. It can run at a maximum road speed of 115km/h with a maximum cruising range of 600 km. The vehicle is based on a 4×4 wheeled drive with independent coil suspension.