Ashurst has advised the Department of Defence - Capability, Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG) on its A$1.3billion acquisition of a fleet of Protected Mobility Vehicles (Light) for the Army.
Ashurst has acted for the Department of Defence since 2009 in relation to the Army's acquisition of 1,100 Hawkei vehicles, to be manufactured by Thales Australia at its Bendigo facility. The Hawkei, a light protected mobility vehicle, not only has significant manoeuvrability relative to its size, but greater blast protection than its predecessor. The Hawkeis will replace Army's ageing Land Rover fleet and it is considered that there is strong potential for export sales to other armies.
Following an exhaustive evaluation and negotiation process, contracts were signed by Major General Paul McLachlan, Defence's Head of Land Systems Division, on Monday 5 October 2015 with both the Defence Minister Marise Payne and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in attendance, as the first major Defence contract entered into by the Turnbull Government.
Lead partner on the deal Sarah Ross-Smith adds: "Ashurst's long-standing engagement by Defence in relation to this matter has given us the opportunity to be involved in each stage of the procurement process over six years. It has been a real career highlight for many of our team to have assisted Defence in another of its major procurement projects which will help to ensure that our service men and women have access to the latest technology which could potentially save lives. This is one of the reasons working with Defence continues to remain so professionally and personally satisfying to us."
Sarah was assisted by senior associate Toby Mittleman, with the team comprising of partners Rehana Box and Steve McKinney; counsel Nick Seddon; senior associates Dominic Fleeton and Hyans Mach; and lawyers Dunja Cvjeticanin, Maniqa Kumar and Genovieve Lajeunesse.
