BAE Systems submits proposal for US armoured vehicle contract
The UK's biggest defence company BAE Systems (BA.L) has submitted a bid for a contract to supply the US army with new armoured vehicles.
Other companies, including US-based General Dynamics (GD), and Germany’s Rheinmetall (RHM.DE), are believed to have entered the race to replace the Bradley armoured fighting vehicles BAE originally built.
Rather than submitting finalised designs, the US army is asking defence firms to submit "concepts" for the new vehicles, inviting them to be imaginative and utilise technology.
But there are some requirements, companies should consider.
The army has requested that the new vehicles should have a crew of no more than two as well as be able carry out some missions while being controlled remotely and utilise automatic systems.
America has roughly 7,000 of the conventional design tracked M2 Bradley vehicles.
The Bradley vehicles feature a turret equipped with a heavy machine gun and anti-tank missiles, and is operated by a crew of three and can carry a squad of six troops.
The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) firm’s US arm has formally submitted a proposal for the US military’s "Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle", the Telegraph first reported.
According to the newspaper the contract could be worth as much as $45bn (£32.6bn).
BAE is said to be working with the US arm of Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems's (ESLT) on the design of the vehicle's integrated turret. But the company has not revealed much else about its concept.
Yahoo Finance has approached BAE Systems for comment.
READ MORE: BAE Systems gives chief executive £2m pay rise to stop him leaving
In March, the company announced that it received a $21m contract from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to support the Common Missile Warning System (CMWS) over the next four and a half years.
“The UK Ministry of Defence has been a key partner on CMWS for decades,” said Christopher Austin, BAE Systems’ director of Threat Detection Solutions. “It is a privilege to continue to help ensure the safety of our ally’s aircraft and personnel with the protection of CMWS.”
Last week, it was revealed that the company gave its CEO a £2m pay rise in order to prevent a rival company from poaching him.
The defence contractor said it has given Charles Woodburn, 50, a base salary increase of more than £100,000 and awarded him an additional share package worth £2m ($2.7m) to ensure he stayed at the firm.
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