Lockheed Martin UK has been tapped to produce hundreds of turrets for armored Scout Specialist vehicles for the British military.

The contract from General Dynamics UK is for a total of 245 turrets and carries a value of $1 billion.

"This contract reflects the significant investment we have made in our workforce in Ampthill (Bedfordshire) and clearly demonstrates our ability to play a key role in the design and development of the armored fighting vehicles of the future," said Stephen Ball, chief executive of Lockheed Martin UK. "The award not only sustains a significant number of highly skilled manufacturing jobs at our Ampthill site but will also greatly benefit our UK supply chain partners with whom we will work to deliver this modern, leading edge capability."

Lockheed Martin said the first prototype turrets will be delivered to General Dynamics UK for assembly onto the Scout SV hull in 2015.

The Scout SV is the first six Scout variants for the British Army for sustained, expeditionary, full-spectrum and network-enabled operations.

Britain's Ministry of Defense ordered the SCOUT SV from General Dynamics UK in September. Delivery of the vehicles is set to begin in 2017.