Hawkei sign of force ingenuity
FOR more than six decades the venerable Land Rover has been the ADF utility workhorse in peace and war.
Adapted for multiple roles, the variants acquired by the ADF are too numerous to list here, while many latter Series III Perentie vehicles were built to satisfy specific Australian requirements.
Series I was adopted by all three services in 1948, with the vehicle simultaneously offered in civilian configuration for projects such as the Snowy Mountains Scheme, where their versatility and reliability proved their worth.
Even the Queen, herself a former army driver and transport officer, admired Land Rovers, owning several starting with Series I. It’s rumoured she still has that original vehicle.
During several royal visits from 1954, specially modified Series I short- wheel- base vehicles carried VIP passengers so they could stand to inspect and be inspected by crowds.
Later series II variants of the same SWB vehicles were fitted with 106mm recoilless rifles as gun- buggies.
Troop carriers, command and radio vehicles, mobile workshops, fire engines, ambulances, long- range patrol vehicles and even the Sallies’ Red Shield comforts trucks, Land Rovers’ capabilities seemed limited only by imagination.
Some who operated them, particularly the early models, might question their serviceability and reliability but while it is difficult to determine just how many were acquired, there was never any shortage of willing buyers when they were put up for disposal.
They lacked grunt, were cumbersome but their greatest vulnerability was simply that.
On the modern battlefield they could not provide adequate protection against mines, IED or direct weapons fire. Now an Australian- designed vehicle is about to change that.
There has never been any lack of imaginative military thinking nor engineering expertise in the ADF, but innovative designs for improved equipment from an SLR- in- spired “bullpup” rifle to specialist de- mining vehicles always seemed to fall on the sword of obtuse, civilian bureaucratic intransigence.
The ADF bureaucracy has lacked the entrepreneurial spirit demonstrated in some forces and there have been few successful examples of locally developed and produced specialist equipment.
And there have been spectacular failures, the Nomad aircraft perhaps the most notable, unsurprisingly designed and promoted by a senior, civilian, defence bureaucrat.
The Bushmaster protected mobility vehicle has been the stand- out exception, with demonstrated battlefield performance, especially its protection from mines and IEDs.
It’s also impressed international buyers.
Now son of Bushmaster, the Australian- developed Hawkei will be built by French conglomerate Thales near Bendigo in a $ 1.3 billion contract announced this week, with possible lucrative export orders to follow.
It’s named after Australia’s largest death adder, that species recognising pugnacious former PM Bob Hawke.
At about 7000kg, Hawkei can achieve a maximum speed of 100km/ h with a range exceeding 1000km. Its six- cylinder Austrian Steyr Motors GmbH diesel engine is related to the current FA88 Steyr personal weapon.
Both the Bushmaster and Hawkei are spectacular examples of Australian ingenuity based on operational experience producing realistic solutions. Hopefully their international success can help invigorate a world- class Australian defence industry.
The ADF bureaucracy has lacked
the entrepreneurial spirit demonstrated in some forces and there have been few successful examples of locally developed and produced
specialist equipment