THE FEDERAL Government had no basis to suppress a report that was critical of a $2.2bn arms deal involving Army s Hawkei, a tribunal has found. Thales Australia - owned by French military giant Thales - won the contract to build the army s light-armoured patrol vehicle, the Hawkei, in 2015. Armoured vehicle designer Jacobus De Wet was involved in the vehicle s initial submissions phase, where he and other directors at Protected Transport Systems designed and tested their version of the landmine and ballistically protected vehicle. The defence contractor s submission was denied and instead awarded to Thales Australia. Protected Transport Systems prototype undergoing blast testing in 2010. Picture: SUPPLIED