British defence group BAE Systems announced Wednesday that it has won a contract potentially worth $1.2 bilion (984 million euros) to start building armoured multi-purpose vehicles for the US Army.
"BAE Systems was awarded a contract ... from the US Army for the engineering, manufacturing, and development and low-rate initial production of the Armoured Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV)," it said in a statement.
"The programme 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 US market accounts for about 40 percent of BAE Systems' group revenues -- making it the biggest foreign supplier of military goods to the Pentagon.