German defence technology group Rheinmetall said on Tuesday its military vehicles joint venture with truck maker MAN had landed a 1.1-billion-euro ($1.45-billion) contract in Australia.

"The Australian Defence Force has contracted with Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) to supply it with an extensive fleet of advanced logistical vehicles," Rheinmetall said in a statement.

As part of a modernisation programme, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) would procure "some 2,500 protected and non-protected logistical vehicles from Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles Australia," the statement said.

The contract covered trucks "in a number of different weight classes in various configurations," Rheinmetall continued.

They would include medium and heavyweight recovery vehicles, heavy-duty logistical vehicles, integrated load handling systems, as well as medium-sized cargo bed variants with cranes, fuel and water modules and tipper bodies.

Rheinmetall said RMMV had beaten leading European and US rivals to secure the contract in what had been "a hard-fought contest."