BAE Systems has been awarded a 15-year, £2.4billion munitions contract with the Ministry of Defence which it said will sustain approximately 4,000 UK jobs.

The agreement will supersede the contract due to end 2022 will guarantee the delivery of munitions products and engineering support to the UK Armed Forces.

BAE Systems, which has a base in Brockworth, directly employs 1,260 people involved in munitions manufacturing or test and evaluation at five sites across the UK - Glascoed in Monmouthshire, Radway Green in Cheshire, Washington in Tyne & Wear, Bishopton near Glasgow, and Ridsdale in Northumberland.

It is anticipated the contract will sustain a further 1,500 jobs in the UK supply chain and support a further 1,300 jobs induced by consumer spending in economies local to sites.

The agreement enables BAE Systems to invest £70million on the refurbishment and upgrade of manufacturing lines, with 75 per cent of this value being invested by 2026.

The company will also spend up to £350million with UK-based companies on raw materials and machine components.

BAE Systems chief executive Charles Woodburn said: "This contract secures the future of a highly technical and critical industry which supports thousands of manufacturing jobs in several areas throughout the UK.

"By investing in new technology and skills to further develop our expertise, we can continue to deliver essential sovereign capability to the Armed Forces at competitive prices."