PARIS (BNS): After the success of Bushmaster, Thales have now introduced its Hawkei Protected Light Mobility Vehicle at the Eurosatory 2010 exhibition in Paris, France.

The hawkei is a highly mobile, 7-tonne light protected vehicle that can carry up to six soldiers and incorporates high levels of blast, ballistic and fragmentation protection in response to the growing operational threat posed by mines, and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), according to a company news release.

"The Hawkei’s light weight, flexibility and ability to be integrated with a wide range of systems make it an excellent candidate for many armed forces’ light protected vehicle requirements today and into the future," Chris Jenkins, Thales Australia’s CEO was quoted as saying in the release.

The vehicle’s unique open architecture enables full integration with a wide range of sensors, weapons, additional armour, C4I and new electronic systems.

Hawkei, according to the company, is a next generation solution underpinned by battle proven experience from Bushmaster. It also offers impressive survivability, with the highest levels of protection of any vehicle in its weight class.