An Australian Army Hawkei PMV-L reverses onto a light landing craft from HMAS Adelaide at Cowley Beach in Queensland during Exercise ‘Sea WADER 2020'. The DoD has announced that a braking issue with the vehicle has now been resolved. (Commonwealth of Australia/Royal Australian Navy)
The Australian government has confirmed that a braking issue with the Thales Australia Hawkei Protected Mobility Vehicle – Light (PMV-L) has been resolved and that it is planning to resume deliveries to the Australian Army.
The vehicle reached initial operational capability (IOC) with the Australian Army in July 2021, but deliveries have since been hampered by a technical issue with the Hawkei's brake system.
The braking issue was first identified in late 2020. However, Australia's Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said in a press conference on 16 July that the issue has now been resolved.
“The latest advice around the ABS braking is that Thales has identified the cause of the problem. They've identified a solution,” Conroy said.
“That solution has been deployed to a number of the Hawkeis and the results in the field have been very positive and so planning has begun… to roll out the rest of the Hawkeis for a mediation programme to have the fits installed and then rolled out to units throughout the country.”
Conroy added that the fix will mean 1,100 Hawkeis will be delivered to the Australian Army as its progresses towards full operational capability (FOC) with the type. He said two Australian Army units will initially test the vehicles before wider roll-out. Neither the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) nor Thales Australia has specified when that roll-out might be.
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