Britain seeks export deals for new armoured vehicle turret

LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - Britain is aiming to win export deals, primarily in Europe and the Middle East, for a new turret designed for British army vehicles, a government minister said on Thursday.

U.S. defence company Lockheed Martin opened a new facility in Ampthill, southeast England on Thursday to build hundreds of new turrets - the top layer of a combat vehicle where the gun is sited - for the British Army.

Britain's defence equipment minister Philip Dunne said the new British-developed capability had good export prospects.

"I think this will become a centre of excellence not just for supplying the British Army but for supplying armed forces amongst our allies in Europe and beyond," Dunne told reporters.

Any export deal would boost a government plan to sell more goods abroad to help to rebalance the UK economy away from its reliance on domestic demand.

The new turret will allow armoured vehicles to shoot on the move and will be used to upgrade Britain's existing fleet of Warrior vehicles.

A different turret will also be used on Britain's new SCOUT vehicle, the hull of which is being built by General Dynamics under a 3.5 billion pound ($5 billion) contract signed in 2014.

Kuwait has a fleet of Warrior and could be a potential customer for the new turret.

"They (Kuwait) are looking at what we're doing with our Warriors with great interest," Dunne said, but cautioned that the capability needed more testing before a new customer could be signed up.

Dunne declined to comment on what the impact would be on the potential for exports to Europe should Britain vote to leave the European Union in the June 23 referendum.

(Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Stephen Addison)