As many as 500 A400Ms, military-use transportation aircraft made by the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Group (EADS), could be sold in the next 30 years, said a senior official with Airbus Military, an arm of EADS specialized in military plane production.

The export potential for such planes could be much larger if taking the markets of China and the Commonwealth of Independent States into consideration, Domingo Urena-Raso, director of Airbus military, told a press conference on Monday.

Although seven European countries, including France, Britain and Germany, signed a 20-billion-euro (27.4-billion-U.S. dollars) contract in 2003 for the purchase of 180 A400Ms from Airbus Military, so far none have been delivered.

Urena-Raso expects that France and Britain will be the first customers to get the planes in the near future, followed by Germany and the rest of the countries.

He said the EADS will be capable of assembling four to five A400Ms in every two months by the year 2016.

Though bullish about the A400M's export market prospects, French Defense Minister Herve Morin put the export potential between 250 and 400 in the coming 30 years, less than the figure predicted by Urena-Raso.

According to the French defense minister, the seven client countries who have placed orders for A400Ms are still haggling over the prices.

A new contract could be decided by June and the annex to the contract could be finalized in one or two more months, said the minister.

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