Northrop Grumman, a top US defense contractor, and Britain's BAE Systems said Monday they had teamed up to bid on a US Army contract to develop a new ground combat vehicle.

Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems have supplied the Army with combat vehicles for more than 50 years, the companies said in a joint statement, which did not provide financial details.

BAE, the world's leading combat vehicle manufacturer, will be the prime contractor in the partnership.

Northrop Grumman will be responsible for the integration of command and control hardware and software, computers and communications equipment and other functions such as surveillance and reconnaissance.

"The Army intends to award contracts to as many as three competitors this fall with production expected to begin in 2017," the statement said.