Mr Even said his company’s H175M model remained the best suited to succeed the Puma, a battlefield workhorse that has seen action in Iraq, ex-Yugoslavia and Afghanistan.

He said: “In terms of performance, competitiveness and value creation, including the commitment we took to set up industrial capability, we are convinced that it is the best proposal.”

While the MoD originally sought up to 44 aircraft as part of the £1bn contract, that number is understood to have been reduced to no more than 30 and perhaps as few as 25.

A source said previously that Airbus felt the tender rules had not given it sufficient credit for its investment and jobs pledge.

While Airbus does not produce helicopters in the UK, it has had maintenance, delivery and training operations in the country for half a century.

Mr Even’s comments came after the opening of a new £55m headquarters and hangar for the business at Oxford Airport, which was attended by the Prince of Wales.

The company supplies more than half of the civil helicopters flying in Britain, including all police models and two thirds of air ambulances, many of them serviced in Oxford.

RAF, Navy and Army pilots train exclusively on Airbus H135 and H145 helicopters. The H145 was also recently chosen to replace a small number of Pumas operating with British forces in Cyprus and Brunei.

Mr Even said that the Puma, which can carry 16 passengers or two tonnes of cargo, nevertheless remained “a fantastic helicopter” which, though designed in the 1970s, was capable of fulfilling mission requirements, if the MoD opted to retain it.