Britain selected a consortium led by Boeing and Thales to oversee its most expensive defense project, one which will replace thousands of army vehicles and cost up to 60 billion pounds ($122 billion).
"The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has today selected the Thales UK and Boeing team as the preferred bidder for the Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) Systems of Systems Integrator (SOSI) role," the ministry said in a news release on Friday.
FRES will introduce thousands of new military vehicles beginning in 2012. Plans call for four vehicle types in 21 variants for tasks ranging from reconnaissance to road clearing.
The role of "system of systems integrator" will involve ensuring the vehicles can operate and communicate with other equipment, including satellites, fighter jets and warships.