Airshow: Airbus keen to sell transport aircraft to India

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Europe's Airbus wants to sell its C295 transport aircraft to India, an Airbus Military executive said on Thursday, adding that the company was awaiting a request for proposals from the government.

"We are very keen to see the RFP so we can get our proposal in there," said Kieran Daly, press manager for Airbus Military.

Airbus is also optimistic about finalising a contract this year to sell aerial refueling tankers to India, he told Reuters in an interview.

Airbus said last month it had beaten Russian competition to be selected as the preferred bidder to supply six A330 aerial refueling tankers to India, paving the way for exclusive talks between Airbus Military and the Indian government for a deal reportedly valued at around $1.25 billion.

"Hopefully the final contract negotiations will begin in the next few weeks. We are optimistic we will have a contract within the year," Daly said.

India has been the world's biggest arms importer in recent years, and plans to spend around $100 billion over the next 10 years in upgrading its mostly Soviet-era military hardware.

(Reporting by A.Ananthalakshmi; Writing by Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Tony Munroe)