- Yes
- No
G’day and welcome to my suggestion for the Hawkei PMV mounted with an EOS R400 RWS using a Mk 47 Striker 40mm automatic grenade launcher. The Hawkei, made by Thales Australia, is an Australian designed and built Protected Mobility Vehicle. It is named after a highly venomous species of Australian death adder, Acanthophis Hawkei, and the snake is in turn named after Bob Hawke, the 23rd prime minister of Australia.
Design started in 2010 for the Australian Army Project Land 121 Phase 4, the Hawkei was selected as the winner of this program in 2015 with 1100 units ordered. Available in both 2 door and 4 door variants, both on the same chassis with the same dimensions, it can be configured in multiple mission “capability packages” and can be deployed via helicopter. We could see multiple variants of the Hawkei in War Thunder, including versions armed with anti-drone systems, missiles or the specialist NASAMs variant. My suggestion for this R400 40mm armed version in the game would be to make it a 4 door, it will allow for additional crew and more sensible internal stowage of ammo boxes. The 2 door could also be represented in the NASAMs. Although either body style wouldn’t make much difference overall.
The Mk 47 Striker is a lightweight 40mm automatic grenade launcher that entered Australian service around 2015-2017 under Project LAND 40 Phase 2. With a maximum range of 2000m and a fire rate of 225 rounds/minutes, it is a modern grenade launcher that replaced the Mk 19 which had been in Australian service for decades.
Hawkei:
Length: 5.7m
Width: 2.4m
Height: 2.3m (to vehicle roof) / 3.0m (to top of remote weapon station)
Weight: 7265kg (with RWS mounted)
Engine: Steyr 3.2L six cylinder turbocharged M16 SCI 200 kW / 268 hp @ 4,000 rpm and torque of 610 Nm/450 ft lb @ 2,000 rpm
Drive: 4x4, 8spd automatic transmission
Top Speed: 130km/hr
Crew: Up to 6 occupants (4 door variant) / 3 occupants (2 door variant)
Protection/Armour: Steel alloys, Aramid fibres for internal spall liners, and ceramic ‘beaded’ armour, roughly NATO STANAG 4569 Level 3 standard
R400 Remote Weapon Station:
Armament: 40mm Mk 47 Striker automatic grenade launcher, fully stabilized, 96 round ammo box (more can be stored inside the vehicle)
Traverse: 360 degrees horizontal, -20 degrees depression, 50 degrees elevation
Rate of Fire: 225 rounds/minute
Weapon Range: 2000m
Muzzle Velocity: 241m/s (M430A1 round)
Additional Features: Thermal imager, laser rangefinder
In Game
The Hawkei will immediately become one of, if not the, fastest vehicles in War Thunder. The remote weapon station will allow it to fire from cover without exposing crew compartments. The low muzzle velocity means aiming at moving targets will take at least some skill, however with a laser rangefinder, getting the distance right should not be much of an issue. The screenshot below shows the penetration statistics of the M430A1 round these grenade launchers use when they were in game on helicopters ~2019 before they were removed in favor of the earlier generation M430 round. When you compare this to, for example, the APDS on vehicles like the XM800 and its 20mm, the penetration is actually quite favorable making it reasonably competent at the right BR.
Sources
Spoiler
https://eos-aus.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/EOS-Defence-R400-flyer.pdf
https://www.thalesgroup.com/sites/default/files/2025-08/hawkei-new-generation-protected-vehicle.pdf
Hawkei proves blast resistance - Australian Defence Magazine
Land Forces 2014: Automatic grenade launcher requirement retendered | ADM September 2014 - Australian Defence Magazine
Colt CZ acquires rights for Mk 47 ‘Striker’ automatic grenade launcher - Defence Connect
LAND 40 Phase 2 - NIOA
https://www.contactairlandandsea.com/adf_weapons_pt1.pdf
https://www.nationaldefensecorp.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/M430A1HedpHv.pdf
Additional Photos
Please note these photos do not have the 40mm AGL mounted like the top of suggestion photo, and some do not have the RWS at all. As this is still a fairly new vehicle in service, finding photos of this combo is so far very rare. The photos are here to show the Hawkei itself.
Spoiler
