Turkey plans to award its US$3.4-billion long-range surface-to-air missile defense contract to China.

Turkey Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz said his government has completed the evaluation of the bids for the project, and it has declared the firm China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corporation as the preferred bidder.

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"The system will be integrated with the national system for Turkey's defense and will be used without integrating with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)," Yilmaz further stated.

The United States and other western countries are raising concern over Turkey's move. The Chinese weapons supplier is under U.S. sanctions for selling weapons to Iraq, Syria and North Korea. The U.S. imposes a ban on such sales to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Western officials are also concerned about the compatibility of the military hardware that Turkey will buy from China with NATO's weaponry.

Turkey is a key NATO member.

Nevertheless, even if Yilmaz has confirmed that Turkey is already about to close the deal, he still insists that the decision is not yet final.

Other bidders for Turkey's new defense missile system believe the situation may still turnaround. These bidders include the United States-listed company Eurosam and Thales in France. Eurosam and Thales both finished second in the bidding.

Another bidder, Raytheon Co, also hopes to bag the deal in the end. The firm has already supplied Patriot missile defense systems in 13 countries around the world.

Raytheon's Integrated Defense Systems Vice President for Business Tim Glaeser thinks Turkey may still change its mind. He reports, Turkey has just asked his company to clarify some details in its bidding proposal.

"It is our understanding that they are continuing to evaluate proposals from the French and the United States," Glaeser notes.

He believes "there's renewed interest" in the offers made by other manufacturers of the missile defense system. Glaeser says they are still in the game.

Some senior officials say Turkey may not announce the winner of the US$3.4-billion deal before April 25 this year This date marks the commemoration of the Armenian Massacres 100 years ago.

The event involved the killing of a large number of Armenians who lived within the Ottoman Empire and its successor, the Turkish State.

A diplomat says Turkey first wants to see the statements that the United States and France may give on the this tragic period in history before making up its mind on the fate of its missile defense project.

TagsTurkey, missile, defense deal, China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corporation, NATO