NATO allies are urging a Turkish defense company to halt its $3.44 billion bid to purchase a missile defense system from China, Defense News reported Tuesday.
Burak Ege Bekdil writes Aselsan’s plan to buy air defense weapons from China Precision Machinery Import-Export Corp. could harm relationships with some U.S. banks.
The Turkish government awarded the contract to CPMIEC in September 2013 for an air and anti-missile defense system comprising of radar, launcher and interceptor missiles, according to the report.
Bekdil writes CPMIEC is one of the blacklisted companies under the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act.
Turkey extended the deadline for U.S. and European contractors such as a Raytheon-Lockheed Martin joint venture and the Italian-French consortium Eurosam to rebid on the contract, Defense News reports.
