EADS, which is the parent of Airbus and vying for the 35-billion-dollar tanker project for the US military, also hopes to win the deal for 500 choppers through its Eurocopter division.

To date, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company has won only one major contract in the US market, a 2006 deal for light utility helicopters worth some two billion dollars.

So far 120 helicopters have been delivered for uses such as medical evacuation or for National Guard operations during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

But EADS, which is due to submit a new proposal in July for the 179 refueling tankers, would like to have a larger share in the largest defense market in the world.

"Our strategy is to have a bigger presence in the US government and military market," said Marc Paganini, chief executive of Eurocopter America.

Eurocopter builds the aircraft at its Columbus, Mississippi, plant, where the company gets state incentives.

To compete, Paganini said Eurocopter must show it is a "good US corporate citizen," capable of producing locally and creating jobs.

For the chopper contract, EADS is likely to be competing against rival Boeing again -- as it is for the tanker deal -- as well as US makers Sikorsky and Bell Helicopter, and the Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland.

Eurocopter has also teamed up with US defense giant Lockheed Martin to develop three prototypes of an army reconnaissance helicopter called AAS-72X, based on the European firm's UH-72A.

The first test flight will take place in December at Eurocopter's US headquarters in Grand Prairie, Texas.

Eurocopter said the formal proposal is likely to come in April or May of 2011, with the military seeking standard helicopters, pilotless drones or possibly a blend of the two.

The company expects a tough battle for the contract worth an estimated six billion to eight billion dollars (10 billion including maintenance) for the 500 aircraft to replace the current OH-58D Kiowa helicopter built by Bell by 2015.

"Eurocopter has an excellent chance," said Richard Aboulafia, vice president and analyst with Teal Group, a consultancy based in Virginia.

"They've done a very good job executing on (light utility helicopters) and on creating a new market for the scout mission. They've done an equally great job promoting it."

But the analyst said he has concerns about funding for this program, which could mean that the project "will slip several years out."

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