AIRSHOW-UPDATE 1-US official sees interest in US planes

PARIS, June 17 (Reuters) - A senior U.S. Air Force official on Wednesday cited strong international interest in Boeing Co's (BA.N) C-17 cargo plane, which could help keep the production line running for one to two more years.
Bruce Lemkin, deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for international affairs, told Reuters a number of European countries could buy C-17s as part of a strategic airlift alliance, adding to three sold to the group already.
"There are quite a few other nations that are basically on the verge of moving forward with C-17 acquisition," Lemkin said in an interview at the Paris Air Show, adding, "I think those numbers could be enough to keep the (production) line going for another year or two."
There was also strong continued interest in Lockheed Martin Corp's (LMT.N) C-130J transport plane, Lemkin said.
He said 25 countries were "seriously interested" in the smaller C-27J Joint Cargo Aircraft being built by L-3 Communications Holdings Inc (LLL.N) and Alenia, a unit of Italy's Finmeccanica Spa (SIFI.MI).
Lemkin said the Obama admininstration was keenly interested in expanding partnerships around the world and often that meant ensuring those countries could operate together militarily with U.S. forces.
"We cannot go it alone in this world," Lemkin said. "We need friends and partners with the right capabilities to take care of their own security, to contribute to regional security, and through that relationship have the ability when it is appropriate ... to join us in operations against common threats and enemies," he said. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Brian Moss)