JGSDF lines up next-generation wheeled armoured vehicles
This is the Hawkei that Japan has been testing as a potential replacement for the LAV. (Photo: Koji Miyake)
Foreign OEMs are starting to get a look-in for military vehicle programmes in Japan.
Thales Australia’s Hawkei and General Dynamics Land Systems’ Eagle are competing to supply a successor to the Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF).
Indeed, a Hawkei was exhibited at DSEI Japan, the vehicle having been sent to Japan around a year ago for tests by the JGSDF.
Since the Hawkei and Eagle are about three times the price of a LAV, it won’t be easy to replace the 1,954 LAVs produced on a one-for-one basis. Furthermore, both are larger and heavier than the LAV, making them difficult to operate on narrow Japanese roads.
Elsewhere, Patria’s
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