The Bulgarian Ministry of Defence has announced it will seek offers for the supply of 150 armored vehicles from four Europe-based manufacturers: Germany’s ARTEC, Finnish Patria, France’s Nexter Group, and Swiss-based General Dynamics Land System – MOWAG, reports Defense News. 

Under the plan, the offers will be evaluated by an interdepartmental task force which is to select the tender’s winner by Dec. 20, the ministry said in a statement.

The acquisition is estimated to be worth about 1.5 billion leva, or $840 million. The armored vehicles are to be supplied to three battalions of the Bulgarian land forces.

“The timeframe for [the project’s] implementation is 12 years,” the statement said.

The planned acquisition was announced shortly after the Bulgarian Parliament’s Defence Committee approved four draft agreements with the United States to acquire eight F-16 Block 70 fighter jets and related equipment from Lockheed Martin. The procurement, estimated to be worth about $1.3 billion, is to mark the country’s largest foreign defense contract since Bulgaria re-gained its independence in 1989.