By Tim Hepher

PARIS (Reuters) - EADS wants to identify up to two acquisitions in the United States this year, according to an internal memo obtained by Reuters as the European aerospace group battles opposition in Congress to a U.S. Air Force deal.

Chief Executive Louis Gallois told staff that one of the group's top 10 objectives for 2008 was to "propose two acquisition projects in the field of defense, security or services to the board, at least one of which is in the United States."

The aim is part of a call to action for 2008 distributed days before EADS is expected to unveil annual losses triggered by industrial problems in its European plants and a weak dollar.

In the memo, Gallois makes delivering on EADS's financial promises and beefing up its industrial performance the group's No. 1 priorities for 2008, as its Airbus civil planemaker unit reels from costly delays to its A380 superjumbo.

Also high on the list is completing the full or partial sale of half a dozen Airbus factories, opposed by French and German unions, and ensuring A380 output increases sharply as planned.

The goals for 2008 are designed to kick-start a plan called Vision 2020, which aims to reshape Europe's top aerospace company as a global player over the next 12 years.

"This will be an action year in which we start turning Vision 2020 into reality," Gallois said in the memo.

The written pep talk was distributed in the past week and its existence was confirmed by two sources who asked not to be named because the list has not been released outside the group. A spokesman for EADS declined to comment.