Ukraine calls for Australia’s Bendigo-made Hawkei military vehicles to complement Bushmasters fleet

The Ukrainian military has released a flashy video of Australia’s high-tech vehicles as it desperately begs our country’s defense force to send its latest armored car.

Australian-made Bushmasters were sent to support the country’s efforts against the Russian invasion and were a resounding success with Ukraine now saying their soldiers have ‘a new crush’ on the Bendigo-made Hawkei.

Accompanied by AC/DC’s Back in Black, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense posted a video on social media of the soldiers in the armored carriers saying that their soldiers and the Hawkei would be “a perfect match on the battlefield.”

“Since our friends down under gave us bushmasters last year, our soldiers can’t stop whining about how great these installations are to beat back Russians,” Ukraine’s defense ministry said in the video.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, requested the Hawkei vehicles for the battlefields, saying they would help save soldiers’ lives while providing a testing ground for the new vehicles.

The Hawkeis has only recently entered service in Australia, with the government spending $1.3 billion on 1,100 Hawkeis and more than 1,000 associated trailers.

Designed and manufactured at the Thales plant in Bendigo, Victoria, the new fleet will replace the Australian Army’s aging Land Rover fleet.

The four-wheel-drive, lightly armored vehicle weighs seven tons and can carry up to five personnel.

It also has a ‘protected mobility battle system’ that protects troops from blasts, while at the same time having the ability to launch significant attacks.

Retired military officer and national security expert Ian Langford told ABC news the vehicle was “a bit of a Swiss army knife” because it is highly mobile and can operate, control and monitor networks over great distances.

“It can be used for tasks such as utility, reconnaissance, liaison and command and control,” Mr Langford said.

Australia provided military support to Ukraine during the war with a $475 million military assistance package, including 90 of the wildly popular Bushmaster fleet.

The Hawkeis (pictured) has only recently entered service in Australia, with the government spending $1.3 billion on 1,100 Hawkeis and more than 1,000 associated trailers built at the Thales plant in Bendigo, Victoria, and will support the aging Replaced the Army’s Land Rover fleet

Australia provided military support to Ukraine during the war with a $475 million military assistance package comprising 90 of the wildly popular Bushmaster fleet (pictured)

The Bushmaster, a 15-tonne four-wheel drive vehicle, was used in the resistance movement in the Kharkov region of northern Ukraine, where Russian troops were forced to retreat.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the fleet “performed masterfully” in the battle.

“We associate Australia with Bushmasters, not kangaroos and koalas,” Dr Yuriy Sak, adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister, said at an event last week.

Yet Ukraine has now set its sights on the latest model Australia has produced, the Hawkei, which can perform similar tasks to the Bushmaster but is much smaller.

Bushmasters can carry heavier weapons and support themselves for up to three days, with the Hawkeis seen as an addition to the Bushmasters.

“A Bushmaster is a protected mobility vehicle that can carry up to nine people, including the driver and gunner,” said Mr Langford.

“It’s really that vehicle (the Hawkei) that enables land forces to move and communicate, both in a networked and maneuvering context,” Langford said.

The Bushmaster, a 15-tonne four-wheel drive vehicle, was used in the resistance movement in the Kharkiv region of northern Ukraine, where Russian troops were forced to withdraw (Photo: Kharkiv, Ukraine in January 2023)

Bushmasters can carry heavier weapons and sustain themselves for up to three days, with the Hawkeis seen as an addition to the Bushmasters

Mr Langford said on Thursday the Hawkeis are ‘on their way’ but are going through some ‘teething’.

“Australia sets quite high standards for the safety behavior of these types of machines, so I don’t think there are any issues that would deter them from potentially becoming exporters in that context,” Langford said of whether or not the vehicles could go to Ukraine are sent.

However, Mr Langford said that even if Australia were willing to send Hawkeis to Ukraine, the bottom line is whether they have the production capacity to do so.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense suggests that the Hawkeis could be tested in a war environment and provide feedback on the armored vehicles.

Mr Myroshnychenko and the Australian Government continue to discuss what support can be provided this year.

“It’s not just about the shopping list, Hawkei is one of the items we ask for and many other things Australia could support Ukraine,” Myroshnychenko said.

‘It is important that that support continues to exist.’