| Updated:
BAE Systems wins £85m deal with US
EUROPE’S biggest defence contractor BAE Systems has won a $134m (£85m) deal from the US for 70 M777 howitzers, potentially safeguarding 380 British jobs.
The company said the weapons will be manufactured in Barrow-in-Furness, northern England, in a programme to run until October 2013.
Final assembly will take place in Mississippi in the United States. The howitzers will be used by the US Army’s Infantry Brigade Combat Teams.
BAE Systems announced last week that 2,942 jobs would be lost due to smaller global defence budgets hitting orders for its fighter jets.
BAE yesterday declined to comment on the media speculation.