Tel Aviv: Morocco is rapidly increasing the number of armed/unarmed drones to be used by its armed forces. After some deals with Israeli drone manufacturers, Morocco is making an effort to localise production. Recent reports point to a Moroccan firm Aerodrive Engineering Services and says the drones are kamikaze/loitering munitions, with an expected production site in Benslimane, while Israel is connected through technology transfer and earlier drone partnerships.
The strongest recent report says Aerodrive Engineering Services won a contract to supply 500 loitering munitions to the Moroccan army, and that Rabat wants local production in Morocco. A related report says the factory is expected to be in Benslimane and may enter service in 2027. Israeli sources said that any local production of drones in Morocco will be based on Israeli technologies.
Past deals were performed by Israeli company BlueBird Aero Systems, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries. According to reports, this company as part of past deals has opened ora production facility in Morocco for SpyX loitering munitions, and Moroccan technicians have reportedly trained with BlueBird in Israel.
The new Moroccan initiative proves that this country is in the midst of an effort to increase its drone arsenal probably due to initial lessons from the operation of drones in the war in Lebanon. In recent years, Morocco has purchased some Israeli defence systems.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
