Airbus : Germany approves 2.3 billion euro purchase of Airbus helicopters - source

BERLIN (Reuters) - The German parliament's budget committee approved a 2.3 billion euro (2.06 billion pounds) contract to buy 31 Airbus helicopters for the country's navy on Thursday, a parliamentary source said.

The Sea Tiger helicopters will be deployed on frigates, and their main job will be submarine-hunting. They have a range of 800 kilometres (500 miles) and can be armed with missiles, torpedoes and machine guns, according to experts.

(Reporting by Sabine Siebold; editing by Maria Sheahan and Thomas Seythal)