The £16 billion Future Rapid Effect System (FRES), the MoD''s most important equipment procurement plan, will supply the the UK army with a new fleet of more than 3,000 highly mobile, medium-weight armoured vehicles.

FRES will introduce thousands of new military vehicles beginning 2012. Plans are to build 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, such as satellites, fighter jets and warships.

The project will include maintenance deals spanning up to 40 years that could increase the value of the deal to £60 billion, industry sources said.

The Thales-Boeing team''s tasks will include overseeing the development of complex technology systems called "integrated battlespace" that include those designed to safeguard against "friendly fire" incidents.

Thales-Boeing team emerged the preferred bidder for the key role of System of Systems Integrator (SOSI) beating British rivals BAE, QinetiQ and Ultra Electronics.

BAE had made its bid as part of a consortium that includes Finmeccanica, of Italy, and General Dynamics, of the US. Ultra Electronics had teamed up with Lockheed Martin.

BAE, which supplied most of Britain''s fleet of armoured vehicles, had already been knocked out of the running to supply the design for the FRES utility variant, the basic troop carrier that is expected to be made in the highest numbers under the scheme.

The SOSI is responsible for managing the purchase of vehicles and ensuring that they operate and communicate with other military equipment, ranging from satellite systems to fighter jets and warships.

The ministry will select another consortium to equip the vehicles, as well as choose a vehicle for the initial variant of FRES.

Testing of three possible vehicles: Piranha Evolution from General Dynamics, the VBCI from France`s Nexter, and the Boxer from Artec (a consortium involving Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall Landsysteme of Germany and Dutch company Stork) concluded last week.

France is expected to buy 700 of the VBCI and deploy it in 2009. Germany has ordered 272 of the Boxer and the Netherlands has ordered 200 of them. Britain was originally in the Boxer programme but dropped out in 2003, opting instead for its own FRES.