Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) received USD 22 million this year in a deal with Morocco for unmanned ‘suicide drones’, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
This comes amid foreign reports that Israel would sell Harop loitering munitions, known as kamikaze drones, to Morocco. IAI said it cannot comment on sales in Africa, reported the Israeli newspaper.
Last month the Defense News weekly published reports, based on its sources in Morocco, that Israel intends to sell the country these drones as part of the normalization between the two countries.
The Spanish newspaper EL ESPANOL reported in November that Tel Aviv and Rabat are currently working on a project to manufacture kamikaze drones in Morocco.
Israel is considered one of the main exporters of drones and IAI has more than 50 operational customers around the world.
The IAI Harop drone is an unmanned “suicide” aircraft, 2.5 meters long with a three-meter wingspan. According to various reports, the craft is used by Israel, India, and Azerbaijan. The Harop carries some 20 kg of explosives and can stay aflight for up to seven hours, with a range of up to 1,000 kilometers. It is capable of locking on a target, diving, and exploding on it.
Last week, Defense Minister Benny Gantz visited Morocco, signing a security cooperation agreement with his counterpart, Moroccan Defense Minister Abdellatif Loudiyi after a year of normalizing ties between the two states.
The signed agreement does not stipulate specific deals, but it does allow Israeli defense companies to do business with the kingdom, according to the spokesman of Israel’s defense minister.
Morocco has purchased the SKYLOCK anti drone system manufactured by Skylock Systems, part of the Israeli Avnon Group, according to Globes, Israel’s preeminent financial newspaper.
The anti-drone purchase was made alongside 26 other countries including East Asian nations in the Israeli pavilions at the Dubai Airshow, which ran Nov. 14-18.
The Moroccan-Israeli military collaboration is expected to extend to the construction of a military base near Melilla, according to EL ESPAÑOL.
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