Today's release of Australia's new defence strategy is expected to spell out the future of the Bushmaster and Hawkei protected mobility vehicles, which have been made in regional Victoria.
The Australian government has provided Ukraine with 90 Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles to aid in its war against Russia where Ukrainian armed forces are finding alternative ways to use the vehicle as a heavy combat vehicle.
But with no future contracts for Bushmasters in the pipeline and the run of 1,100 Hawkei vehicles at the Bendigo factory fulfilled in August last year the future of Thales Australia in Bendigo — and the city's defence industry in general — is unclear.
Along with Thales Australia, Bendigo has a hub of organisations that support the Department of Defence.
Australian Defence Apparel runs a workshop in East Bendigo and supplies military uniforms to the Australian Defence Force.
In the 2020-21 financial year, it made nearly 500,000 garments locally and spent $3.8 million on research and development.
The Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation (AGIO) facility also operates in Junortoun, just outside of Bendigo, as the lead geospatial and imagery intelligence organisation in the department.
There is also the proving ground at Monegeetta, between Bendigo and Melbourne, used for testing military equipment since the 1940s.
Bendigo reliant on defence contracts
Bendigo Trades Hall Council secretary, Luke Martin says the potential for retrofitting Bushmasters to carry surface-to-sea missiles has been discussed.
"It's easy for the site to pick that up and take it on," he said.
"They already have the capability and have the skilled employees here in Bendigo.
"They've only just signed off on an enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) and fought for a long time."
Mr Martin says additional Department of Defence contracts are integral for maintaining the local workforce.
However, at the completion of the Hawkei program Thales Australia announced it was axing jobs.
"In August last year, we saw 29 jobs go because of a lack of contracts and it's these contracts that they [Thales] are waiting for," he said.
The Department of Defence said Thales Australia notified it in November that it had identified an issue related to the braking system on the Hawkei vehicles.
"This is not related to the original braking issue involving the Anti-Lock Braking System, for which a software fix has been implemented across the ADF fleet," a department spokesperson said.
The department says it is continuing to work with Thales Australia to resolve the issue.
Thales Australia would not comment on the brake issue or future contracts.
Local defence production
The ABC understands there are no future contracts for additional Bushmasters to be made at the Thales North Bendigo factory since the defence manufacturer completed the contract of 43 Bushmasters for New Zealand.
It also understands some production has continued because some of the earlier models of Hawkei vehicles are being upgraded to bring them up to standard with the newer models.
The Hawkei vehicles now have Ukraine's attention with its ongoing war with Russia.
Its ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko tweeted that "Ukraine is interested in using Hawkei vehicles for reconnaissance, command and control and mobile electronic warfare roles, and potentially as an air-defence platform".
In August, the Australian Army unveiled its prototype for an electric variant of the Bushmaster.
The Assistant Minister for Defence Matt Thistlethwaite said at the time that the electric Bushmaster was part of building a "future-ready" army.
Ahead of today's defence strategy being announced, Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy has said the government is "strongly committed" to growing local defence manufacturing in Bendigo and partnering with industry to develop a sovereign industrial base.
"Thales' Bendigo facility plays an important role in Australia's defence manufacturing sector, producing world-class capabilities such as the Bushmaster and Hawkei," he said.
Mr Conroy said Thales' Bendigo facility was important in fulfilling the need for combat-ready protected vehicles.
