The British Army's next generation of combat uniforms are to be made in China in an attempt to save money, Britain's Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

A five-year contract worth 50 million pounds (75 million euros, 91 million dollars) to supply a range of military uniforms has been awarded to a firm based in Northern Ireland, an MoD spokeswoman said.

This company, Cooneen Watts and Stone, plans to sub-contract work for camouflage outfits to China.

"The contract for the main combat outfits worn by the UK armed forces has been sub-contracted to a company in China," she said.

The new contract saves the Ministry of Defence 23 million pounds (35 million euros, 41 million dollars), the paper said.

The MoD spokeswoman said the quality of the work would be good.

"High street shops have been using manufacturers in China successfully for many years and our chosen contractor has experience in these areas," she said.

"The MoD therefore has confidence that we will receive quality garments of the appropriate standard on time."

Source: agencies