(A Eurofighter Typhoon jet fighter performs during a demonstration flight at the 49th Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport, east of Paris, June 23, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Francois Mori)

LONDON - British prime minister David Cameron said Wednesday he is disappointed that India is in talks with French company Dassault Aviation instead of Eurofighter over a contract for fighter aircraft, but will ask the country to reconsider.

Britain had hoped India would buy Eurofighter Typhoon jets that are partly assembled in Britain by BAE Systems. Indian officials said earlier this week that they had begun negotiations with Dassault to buy its Rafale jets in an $11 billion deal instead.

Cameron told lawmakers that the decision "is obviously disappointing" but that India had not yet awarded the contract. He said he would encourage Indian officials to look again at the Eurofighter Typhoon, which outside of Britain is also built by the German and Spanish branches of European aerospace group EADS and Italy's Finmeccanica.

Germany also expressed disappointment at what it called the "preliminary decision" by India.

"The German government... regrets that the offer by the Eurofighter consortium is not being given a chance for the time being," German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said in Berlin.

Asked what he meant by "for the time being," Seibert said his choice of words was based on "experience in a relatively large number of other cases where, after such awards, there were about-turns."

The U.K. prime minister's spokesman, Steve Field, acknowledged that "it is not good news" that the French bid was chosen as the preferred bidder, but stressed that the contract "is not a done deal."

"We are taking stock to see if there is anything we can do and we are in contact with our High Commission in India to get their assessment," he told reporters.