DEFENCE and transport electronics company Joyce-Loebl is on the right wavelength for a multi-million pound communications contract.

The Gateshead company will supply more than £2m worth of communications computers for the Army, with the prospect of several more million pounds worth of orders to follow.

Joyce-Loebl is one of only a handful of UK companies capable of meeting the specification for the components of the Army's new Bowman communications system, which will see the advent of the "digitised soldier" in an eight-year communications revolution.

The work will help safeguard the jobs of 125 people at the company's two Team Valley sites.

The initial phase is for the supply of 700 high-security battlefield computers for use in a system developed by General Dynamics UK, which earlier this year won the contract to develop the Bowman digital communications system.

The Joyce-Loebl equipment will provide secure communications for the battlefield headquarters as it receives encrypted information from soldiers in the field.

"We have been working in this field for ten years," said Trevor Grugan, director of Joyce-Loebl's defence systems division.

"However, our products had only sold in small numbers until we received news of this order. The years of development are now paying their dividend many times over."

Although current and recent world conflicts have not been a factor in the MoD order, Mr Grugan said: "There is no doubt that, had Bowman been available, it would be in use on the battlefield now, as it marks a quantum leap in communications capability."

The Army order comes on the back of other recent contract wins for Joyce-Loebl, including a £500,000 contract with Vickers Defence Systems.

The company has also secured major deals in the public transport sector