Ukraine requests Australian Hawkie armored vehicles – defense minister
Ukraine's defense minister has asked Australia to provide Ukraine with Hawkie armored vehicles, and also calls on Sydney to join the international "tank coalition".
Oleksii Reznikov, the state's defense minister said this on Twitter.
What is the problem?
Last year, more than 60,000 vehicles were sent from abroad for the needs of Ukraine's forces and other organizations that help the front. Such data is provided by the State Customs Service. Only in the first two months of the war, 10,700 cars were imported for the needs of Ukrainian troops.
On average, about 5,000 cars were handed over to the military per month. Given the fact that cars "live" at the front for a short time, from two weeks to two months, the Armed Forces will need at least the same number of cars this year as well.
What is the solution?
The Australian light (7-ton) armored vehicle Hawkie has several versions – 4x and 2x-door.
The vehicle is designed to perform a number of tasks, including troop movement, command and control, communications, surveillance and reconnaissance.
The Hawkie was originally developed in 2010 to meet the Australian Defense Force's (ADF) requirements for a light armored patrol vehicle to replace some Land Rover Perentie variants.
Due to its high mobility, good protection, the car can be used as a combat platform.
Primary armament on the Hawkie: 12.7 mm machine gun or 40 mm automatic grenade launcher, combat module with 12.7 mm machine gun, 40 mm automatic grenade launcher or anti-tank missile system.
Hawkie parameters: speed – 130 km/h, engine power – 272 hp and 448 hp, crew – 4-6 people.
How does it work?
As the minister noted, Australia has already provided significant support to Ukraine during the full-scale war, and made "the largest contribution to Ukraine outside of NATO."
Your Bushmasters (Bushmaster armored personnel carriers – ed.) were incredible in real combat. But our fight for global freedom is not over yet, and we still need your support, Reznikov said.
Reznikov noted that such armored vehicles "could provide invaluable assistance to our troops during a counteroffensive.
