A TECH firm in Basildon has been awarded a £41million contract with the army to supply ground-breaking bomb disposal equipment for “civilian emergencies”.

Team Endure, a team of small and medium-sized businesses led by Leonardo, won the contract from the Ministry of Defence which will see it provide digital protection against remotely triggered bombs.

The technology will be deployed when army specialists respond to civil emergencies around the UK in support of the police and other civil authorities.

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Leonardo says the new equipment can scan the airwaves for remote control signals that are attempting to detonate an explosive device and can jam these transmissions using advanced new digital techniques.

Bosses say the new technology, which will include mounted vehicles, will be available from autumn next year.

It will be used by the British Army’s 11 EOD and Search Regiment of the Royal Logistic Corps, the specialist unit responsible for explosive device and munitions disposal.

The contract was placed by the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) organisation on behalf of the Army.

A spokesman for Leonardo said: “Leonardo has 45 years of experience in the counter-explosives domain and has previously provided the ‘Guardian’ jamming system to the UK’s Armed Forces, protecting vehicle crews and dismounted patrols from Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“This new contract also draws on the company’s work in partnership with the Ministry of Defence to develop open standards such as the Land CEMA (cyber-electromagnetic activities) Architecture and OpenCPI (Open Component Portability Infrastructure) amongst others.

“In addition to its heritage in the domain, Leonardo has a number of former counter-terror bomb disposal experts working on the programme.”

Under the contract, Leonardo, which is based in St Christopher Road, will also provide in-service support services to the Ministry of Defence, which is initially contracted for two years, after there are contract options to extend.

The firm rose to prominence earlier this year after helping provide state-of-art thermal imaging cameras to the BBC for its popular wildlife series, Dynasties.