BAE Systems wins $1.2bn US contract

LONDON - Agence France-Presse

British defense group BAE Systems announced Dec. 24 that it has won a contract potentially worth $1.2 bilion (984 million euros) to start building armored multi-purpose vehicles for the U.S. Army.

“BAE Systems was awarded a contract ... from the U.S. Army for the engineering, manufacturing, and development and low-rate initial production of the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV),” it said in a statement.

“The program aims to provide the US Army with a highly survivable and mobile fleet of vehicles that addresses a critical need to replace the Vietnam-era M113s.”       

The U.S. market accounts for about 40 percent of BAE Systems’ group revenues -- making it the biggest foreign supplier of military goods to the Pentagon.