Babcock-Lockheed JV awards Airbus 500 million pounds UK contract

(Reuters) - Airbus Group SE said its UK helicopters unit got a 500 million pound contract from Ascent Flight Training Ltd to provide aircraft and support to the UK's Military Flying Training System. The contract from Ascent, a joint venture between Babcock International Group Plc and Lockheed Martin Corp, is spread over 17 years, Airbus, Europe's largest aerospace company, said on Friday. The unit will provide aircraft and support beginning April 2018, the company said. (http://bit.ly/1TKK3X7) "You're in the figure of a total fleet in the thirties," said Ian Morris, head of Airbus' UK helicopter defence business. Shares in Airbus were up 1.1 percent at 53.90 euro at 1138 GMT on the Paris Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Mamidipudi Soumithri in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)