SWINDON firm MAN ERF has won a £1.1 billion contract to supply the armed forces with a new fleet of more than 5,000 cargo and recovery trucks.
Defence minister Adam Ingram said the deal would give the British forces one of the most advanced support fleets in the world.
A spokesman for MAN, which employs 300 people at Blagrove and 3,000 across the country, said the firm was delighted with the news, and that nationally several hundred more people would be taken on, although it is too early to say where or when.
The trucks, which will come into service in 2007, will transport supplies to frontline troops and help recover damaged and inoperable vehicles.
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