BAE chosen for truck order

BAE Systems said today it had been chosen to deliver 3,000 trucks to the Australian army in a deal worth up to £650m (€937m).

The company’s recent US acquisition, Armor Holdings, is believed to have beaten off competition from DaimlerChrysler, MAN and General Dynamics to be named preferred supplier.

It is the latest order boost for BAE’s £2bn (€2.9bn) acquisition after Armor was chosen by the US military as the sole source for 10,000 armoured utility vehicles, primarily designed for freight and troop transport, with future orders for another 10,000 a possibility.