Hawkeis not ready for Australian army, let alone Ukraine

Australia should not risk safety or its reputation by rushing Bendigo-built Hawkeis to Ukraine, a top general says.

There are too many questions about the heavily armoured military vehicle's supply chain and brake problems, Major General Andrew Bottrell has told a Senate Estimates hearing.

"We can't even roll it out to Defence, given those ... factors, let along sustain it on [active] operations," he told the committee of politicians last week as it delved into Australian military spending. "So it's been my advice in to Defence that we could not sustain this vehicle overseas. And we certainly could not sustain it if we were also trying to roll it out to the Australian Defence Force." The comments came after Ukraine's campaign to "Free the Hawkei".

That country has publicly pressed Australia's civilian leaders for the vehicles after the success of Bushmasters - armoured military trucks also built in Bendigo - in its war with Russian invaders. Defence has spent decades developing Hawkeis to replace ageing Land Rovers, and once hoped to finish training troops on them midway through 2024 That has now blown out to 2024 thanks to the mysterious problem with a Hawkei's anti-lock braking system (ABS).

Defence and Hawkei manufacturer Thales have found a temporary solution that could soon allow training to resume, Major General Bottrell told Senate Estimates. Major General Bottrell shared the update as Liberal senator David Van probed military and government leaders on their response to the Free the Hawkei campaign. The senator wanted Defence's take on claims Ukrainian troops could simply disable the vehicles' ABS, or not drive in certain conditions. "That braking issue - that's only really an issue when the vehicle's being driven on a road at speed, isn't it?" Senator Van asked.

Major General Bottrell said that was not correct. "In fact, the environment in which we discovered the issue was in an off-road circumstance," he said. The Labor government said it supported Ukraine's war effort with equipment, finance and aid. Defence secretary Greg Moriarty told Senate Estimates it remained a significant concern. "The government is continuing to look at what it might appropriately do to support Ukraine," he said.

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