Rabat – King Mohammed VI’s upcoming visit to Russia by the end of 2015 has revived speculations that Morocco will acquire its first Amur 1650Russian submarine.
Multiple Moroccan and Russian media reports said negotiations about the price tag of theAmur 1650, which kicked off in 2013, are expected to finish during King Mohammed VI’s prospective working visit to Moscow.
A number of local media outlets suggested that the several postponements of King Mohammed VI’s visits to Russia were due to a failure to reach an agreement on the deal’s final price.
However, a senior source from Royal Moroccan Armed Forces said this is “mere speculation of the Russian media.”
Quoted by Hespress, the source confirmed that if Morocco really has the intention to buy the Russian submarine, it is likely to be “a long term deal.”
The same source went on to add that more important deals are suspended currently, due to the lack of financial resources, mainly helicopters with anti-submarine warfare which are a must for the reinforcement of Morocco’s four new Sigma class frigates.
The Amur 1650 was offered to Morocco by the Russian state arms export company Rosoboronexport in 2013, as part of its effort to promote the modern non-nuclear submarineon the world market.
The Amur 1650 was designed by the Rubin Naval Design Bureau based in St.Petersburg, which belongs to the United Shipbuilding Corporation.
Measuring 67 meters in length and 7.2 meters wide, the Amur 1650 includes an anechoic tile coating on the outer hull and a skewed 7-blade propeller.
The submarine is capable of carrying18 missiles, torpedoes, or mines, and can be operated in any oceanic area, except for regions with extensive ice fields, at any weather, and in shallow and deep waters.
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