STAFF at the Thales Bendigo plant yesterday had their first glimpse of the Hawkei vehicle that could secure jobs in the region for years to come.The Hawkei Protected Mobility-Vehicle Light is the company’s submission to the Australian Defence Force search for a vehicle to replace an ageing fleet of Land Rovers.The baby brother of the Bushmaster, the Hawkei is a seven-tonne vehicle that has the same protection design as the highly successful Bushmaster.To date, no one has been killed in a Bushmaster in Iraq or Afghanistan.Thales Australian Light Protected Vehicle Team Leader, Mike Lovell, said the potential economic boom the Hawkei could launch for Bendigo was huge.“This vehicle is essentially designed to replace a Land Rover type capability, not a Humvee type - there is about 50,000 Land Rovers in military service around the globe,” Mr Lovell said.“This vehicle is a quantum leap in terms of protection, mobility, the electronic architecture of the vehicle and the long-term sustainability - we have tried to design a future-proof vehicle.“Thales should be able to achieve about five to 10 per cent of that market as a replacement.“That would bring an enormous amount of work through the Bendigo plant.”Mr Lovell said this could create more jobs in Bendigo and help boost small and medium business across Victoria.Thales yesterday hosed down claims by Opposition defence personnel spokesman Bob Baldwin that a failed Hawkei bid would result in the loss of jobs at Bendigo.“The production of Bushmaster is going to continue for some time,” Mr Lovell said.“We are continuing to pursue export orders and there is also a lot of work to be done in remanufacturing vehicles that have been battle damaged in Afghanistan and just general wear and tear.“These vehicles have a life span of approximately 30 years.”The popularity of the Bushmaster with Dutch and British forces, as well as the ADF, means that a successful Hawkei could continue Thales Bendigo’s push into the international market.“One of our export customers has come to us and said they are willing to delay one of their programs to see just what we (Thales) have to offer,” Mr Lovell said. A decision on the Hawkei should be announced next year.