WASHINGTON The U.S. Army has selected General Dynamics and American Rheinmetall to compete to replace the Bradley fighting vehicle, in a deal that could be worth more than $45 billion to the winner.

Monday's announcement means two - from a field of five contractors - will get contracts to develop detailed digital designs and later prototypes for testing. The total award value for both contracts is approximately $1.6 billion.

A single competition winner will be given a production contract in 2027, Army officials said, with fielding of the first vehicles in 2029. The Army said it will decide by 2027 how many of the vehicles it will buy.

(Reporting by Mike Stone; Editing by Chris Sanders)