Staffordshire’s JCB has won a $50 million contract to supply high-speed back-hoe loaders to the US army. The high-mobility engineer excavators (HMEEs) will be manufactured at JCB’s North American plant in Savannah, Georgia, and delivered by 2017.

The US army ordered 636 HMEEs back in 2005 for $206 million — the biggest single order in JCB’s 68-year history. Since then the company has gone on to sell HMEEs to armed forces in the UK, Sweden, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, New Zealand and other allied nations.

JCB chief executive Graeme Macdonald said: “Over the past 30 years, JCB has supplied over 4,000 machines to armies in 57 countries, and we are delighted to build on that success by securing this latest contract.”

The 16-tonne HMEE changed the way military engineering tasks were tackled.

Capable of speeds up to 60mph, it can keep up with military convoys on the road, eliminating the need for a low-loader. As a result, roads can be cleared, obstacles removed and routes blocked (to obstruct the enemy) with great efficiency.