LONDON, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Britain has agreed to a $280 million deal to buy light-weight patrol vehicles from armored vehicle maker Force Protection Industries Inc.
The U.S. company Force Protection Europe is expected to start delivering the vehicles during the second half of next year, with the project completed by the spring of 2012, the company said in a statement.
Force Protection was chosen as the preferred bidder for an urgent tender in September. The company's Ocelot vehicle won over the competing Supacat bid.
The Ocelot is the first British armored vehicle of its type. Drawing on technology from the auto racing industry, the vehicle has a composite pod to better shield soldiers inside.
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Fully operational and deployed within two years, the ordered batch will also include a spares package, company officials said.
Military experts suggest that more deals for the Ocelot may follow.
"Further orders may follow. When the previous Labor government launched the requirement, it talked about ordering 400 vehicles," the Defense News Web site reported. "It later halved that with the expectation a further batch of vehicles would be added later."
It is understood that the light-weight vehicle will be used in Afghanistan, replacing trucks built atop Land Rover frames. The Ocelot is considered much more mobile than Force Protection's Buffalo vehicle. Both are seen as offering the same protection.
Auto specialist Ricardo PLC helped with the design and development of the Ocelot, which has undergone more than a year of blast and mobility testing, Force Protection said in the statement.
In an interview with Defense News, Michael Moody, the chairman and chief executive of Force Protection, said the Ocelot provided the ability to perform in many roles for the British, including use as an armored truck.
"You could see where it would fit a number of requirements like WMIK and OUVS [Operational Utility Vehicle System] we are certainly hearing those sorts of things, although I wouldn't want to represent to you as us having active discussions," said Moody.
The Land Rover vehicle the Ocelot will replace has been widely criticized by British lawmakers, pundits and the media as being inadequate for task patrols in Afghanistan and Iraq, causing numerous fatalities and injuries.
The vehicle weighs about 7.5 tons and allows for a six-man crew.
Force Protection has also been short-listed for part of an Australian requirement tender known as Land 121.
