* Sees signs crisis has bottomed out, confirms target
* Says to meet or beat U.S. orders target in 2009
* To decide in wks on partnering with Northrop on C-27J
* Hopes relationship with Thales stays on current footing (Adds details, quotes)
By Deepa Babington and Tim Hepher
PARIS, June 17 (Reuters) - The head of Italy's Finmeccanica became the latest defence executive this week to suggest the economic crisis may have reached bottom, and predicted that U.S. orders may exceed its target this year.
Pierfrancesco Guarguaglini reaffirmed Finmeccanica would meet its revenues target of 17.1-17.7 billion euros ($23.7-$24.53 billion) in 2009, which it had set earlier this year amid the downturn.
"We are seeing signs that mean that we are at the bottom of the crisis but I do not know how long the recovery will take," he told Reuters at the Paris Air Show.
Top executives from companies like Goodrich, Alliant Techsystems and Northrop Grumman are among those who have suggested the worst is over for the global economy, though they remain cautious on when a recovery could take root.
Guarguaglini added that he was unaware of any interest from Abu Dhabi state investment agency Mubadala or Libya -- where the Italian company is setting up a helicopter joint venture and facility -- in buying a stake in the company.
Mubadala Development said earlier it was interested in partnerships with leading aerospace groups, while Libya has been eyeing major Italian companies for a stake.
Finmeccanica, which builds products ranging from helicopters to satellites, also expects to ink a 300 million euro border security contract in Libya in the coming months, he said.
Finmeccanica could still strike a few "very small" acquisitions in the U.S. market, where it bought U.S. defence technology firm DRS last year to gain a foothold. The company is nearly done integrating the acquisition, he said.
"I expect they will reach their goal and maybe they will be able to have a better result," Guarguaglini said, referring to the U.S. orders forecast of 2.5 billion euros this year.
Finmeccanica will decide within weeks whether to partner with Northrop Grumman on the C-27J project after Boeing pulled out in February, or go it alone, Guarguaglini said.
Though the Pentagon has cut back its planned purchase of C-27J cargo planes to 38 from 78 previously, Guarguaglini said the U.S. National Guard could order planes that could bring up the tally back to sales of 75 aircraft.
Finmeccanica will not change plans to set up a U.S. assembly line for the C-27J project as long as plane deliveries are maintained at a level of at least 12 a year, he said.
"Now we are waiting, because we know the problem of the Air Force," he said. "At least we delayed this investment."
It will also scrap plans for a stock market listing for its Ansaldo Energia unit if markets stay weak and search for minority investors for the business instead, he said.
Guarguaglini said he hoped relations with Thales would remain on their current footing after the arrival of Dassault Aviation as a core shareholder.
Dassault bought a 21 percent stake in Thales from telecoms equipment company Alcatel Lucent in a deal finalised last month, becoming the largest shareholder after the state.
Dassault and the French state appointed Luc Vigneron as CEO of Thales last month, replacing Denis Ranque who had forged satellite ventures with Finmeccanica and prevailed over Europe's defence electronics industry alongside Guarguaglini for a decade.
"I hope the atmosphere remains as it is. We know Luc Vigneron from when he was at Alcatel," Guarguaglini said, adding he would meet the former Nexter state arms company chief on Thursday.