ORNSKOLDSVIK, Sweden -- BAE Systems has received the 2008 European Turret Mounted Weapons Excellence in Technology award from Frost & Sullivan, a worldwide growth consulting company.

The award recognizes BAE Systems for its work designing and developing the SEP family of vehicles. The SEP family consists of common-chassis, tracked and wheeled 6x6 and 8x8 vehicles.

"This recognition is the result of significant investments by BAE Systems and our employees to develop the best and most cost effective family of vehicles for Armed Forces," said Örjan Olsson, SEP projects director of BAE Systems. "The SEP family of vehicles is built on a 50-year tradition of manufacturing excellence and commitment to innovation by our Swedish operations. Its flexibility to always be fit for any type of mission, high protection levels for the crew and high availability gives the users ability to act in any type of conflict anywhere in the world."

A SEP vehicle is created by adding a specific mission module to a basic chassis depending on the users need--ranging from troop carrier, ambulance, command and control, reconnaissance or logistic carrier. More than 24 different variants have been created. The vehicles are designed and manufactured in Örnskoldsvik, Sweden, by BAE Systems Hägglunds AB, one of the company's Swedish subsidiaries.

"Our analyses have showed that the SEP family has unique features which the users definitely will benefit from," said Moin Chowdhury, research manager at Frost & Sullivan. "Governments around the world should soon realize the benefits of platforms, such as SEP, which bring all the capability needed in conflict at a cost which is significantly more favorable than anything else seen on the market today."

The Frost & Sullivan Excellence in Technology Award is given to the company that has pioneered the development and introduction of an innovative technology into the market-a technology that has either impacted or has the potential to impact several market sectors. The award recognizes a company's successful technology development that is expected to bring significant contributions to the industry in terms of adoption, change and competitive posture. It also recognizes the overall technical excellence of a company and its commitment towards technology innovation.

BAE Systems
18.04.2008