ANKARA -- Turkey has chosen an Israeli company to modernize some 300 helicopters in its air force under a multimillion-dollar contract which was signed in Ankara on Friday, a defense industry official said.

The 110-million-dollar project, awarded to the state-owned Israeli Military Industries (IMI), involves the installation of electronic warfare systems on board the helicopters, including laser, missile warning systems and jammers, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Turkey's state-owned Aselsan Firm will work on the project with IMI as a co-contractor, she said.

The official added that Turkish and Israeli officials are scheduled to sign off on the deal in the Turkish capital on Friday.

The helicopter deal is the second defense contract predominantly Muslim but strictly secular Turkey has awarded to the Jewish state this year.

In March, IMI was chosen to upgrade 170 U.S.-made M-60 tanks under a contract worth some 670 million dollars.

The decision had attracted a wave of criticism at home, especially from Islamist opposition parties, and calls for the deal to be scrapped due to Israel's military operations against the Palestinians.

Turkey has been Israel's chief regional ally since 1996 when the two countries reached a military cooperation accord, much to the anger of most Arab nations and Iran.

Ankara, which has the biggest army in NATO after Washington, its main arms supplier, originally planned to spend some 150 billion dollars to modernize its army over the next 30 years.

But severe financial turmoil in November 2000 and February 2001 has forced the postponement of a number of projects including a tender for 145 combat helicopters and another for 1,000 tanks.