Moroccan Minister of National Defense, Abdellatif Loudiyi affirmed Morocco’s plans to develop a domestic military industry, particularly with the manufacture of intelligence and combat drones.
The minister was quoted on Saturday in a report of a parliamentary meeting, saying that Morocco seeks to develop “certain sectors of the military industry, in particular those of arms and ammunition, as well as the manufacture of drones capable of carrying out intelligence, surveillance and armed attack operations, in addition to aircraft maintenance military.”
Loudiyi said that a project to construct a military aircraft maintenance factory had been given to an international business with expertise in the area, though he did not elaborate on the nature of these operations.
The minister emphasized that a law allowing for the issuance of licenses for the development of military industries had already been adopted by the government in order to “strengthen the independence” of the kingdom in this area.
In November 2021, Israeli and Moroccan media reported on an unofficial $22 million contract between Rabat and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Israel’s first public aerospace company, for the delivery of “kamikaze drones.”
Since then, Morocco and Israel have since increased their defense cooperation. A previous cyber cooperation and data security pact between Israel and Morocco may have served as a precursor to Moroccan purchases of advanced Israeli military technology.
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