Babcock joint venture secures MOD contract

Babcock’s joint venture with Lockheed Martin, Ascent Flight Training, has been awarded a contract by the Ministry of Defence to deliver the rotary wing element of the UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS).

The engineering support services group said the total revenue value of the contract – which includes the delivery of Airbus H135 and H145 training aircraft and the installation of new infrastructure and ground-based equipment – will be around £0.4bn.

Chief executive Peter Rogers said: “Today's announcement secures the future of rotary wing flight training for the UK's Armed Forces. It also marks the placement of contracts by the MOD worth a total of £2.8bn to deliver all four core training elements of UKMFTS."

Ascent is a 50/50 joint venture between Babcock and Lockheed Martin, responsible for delivering the UKMFTS through to 2033, in partnership with the MOD.

At 0818 BST, shares were up 0.6% to 985.50p.