The Ministry of Defence has commissioned 589 small tanks at a cost of £3.5 billion from General Dynamics, of the United States, to be the “eyes and ears” of the British Army, in the biggest armoured vehicle order since the 1980s.
General Dynamics was awarded the contract to build the Scout fighting vehicles in 2012, all but ending BAE Systems’ hopes to make new vehicles for the army. The contract will support 1,300 UK jobs, David Cameron said. The company has said much of the work will be done at the MoD Defence Support Group’s factory in Shropshire.