Ford is to compete - along with a range of other automotive OEMs - for a significant new UK military vehicle contract. The company is also exploring the potential for vehicle sales to other national armed forces across Europe.
The Financial Times has reported that Ford is among companies interested in competing for the upcoming contract to develop a next generation Light Mobility Vehicle (LMV) for the British Army.
The FT report suggested that Ford is aiming to expand sales of its Ranger pickup trucks for military purposes to the UK and NATO countries across Europe.
Ford of Europe President Jim Baumbick told the FT that there was "a big opportunity" for NATO to develop military-purpose vehicles with car parts that could be shared across allied forces to strengthen crisis-management response capabilities.
The report said that Ford will partner with General Dynamics Land Systems and UK engineering group Ricardo to compete for the UK Ministry of Defence's LMV programme. The LMV programme will replace ageing Land Rover and Pinzgauer military vehicles.
The Ford Ranger pickup is a strong seller across Europe and Ford maintains that it has the advantage of scale and breadth in its European aftersales network as well as its UK supply chain.
Ford could produce the military variant's vehicle's engine at its UK Dagenham plant.
The FT report also said that General Motors has teamed up with BAE Systems and NP Aerospace, while INEOS Automotive has formed a consortium with SMT Defence and NMS UK.
Tata Motors owned Jaguar Land Rover is also thought to be exploring military application partnerships.
UK defence group Babcock International has developed a 'General Logistics Vehicle' for the UK LMV competition. The Babcock GLV series is based on the Toyota Land Cruiser LC70 and the company claims the GLV is able to 'fulfil a multitude of tasks for militaries across the world'.
See also: Renault joins defence push with Thales military vehicle project
"Ford to compete for UK military vehicle contract" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand.