The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded an £83m contract for the supply of Ballistic Sensor Fused Munition (BSFM) for use with the army's AS90 guns.
BSFM is a long-range shell that can be fired from an AS90 gun to seek out and destroy armoured vehilces.
Munitions are dropped by parachute, using sensors to seek out enemy targets as they drift down.
The weapon will be supplied by German company Gesellschaft fur Intelligente Wirksysteme mbH.
Minister for Defence Equipment and Support Baroness Taylor says the technology will help the army "meet the challenges of modern operations".
"New technology is allowing us to use highly accurate, precisely targeted weapons, reducing both the numbers of weapons we need to deploy and the risk of collateral damage," she says.
"The BSFM will be fired from existing AS90 guns and this project follows our investment in highly accurate long-range guided rockets now deployed by the Royal Artillery in Afghanistan."
The BSFM is expected to enter service in 2011.
By staff writer
