Rabat – Following a 2019 deal between Morocco and the US’ Gulfstream Aerospace, Morocco expects the delivery of four G550 intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft.
L-3 Technologies, a US-based supplier of communications, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems, is currently equipping four G550 aircraft with the technologies.
According to the US’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), one of the four aircraft, tail number N527GA, is currently registered to L-3 technologies in Texas.
The electronics system supplier will outfit the aircraft with ISR technology from Israel’s ELTA Systems. According to the ELTA Systems website, the electronics manufacturer specializes in the “development of advanced defense and intelligence electronics, including sensors, radars, electronic warfare, and communication systems.”
Morocco intends to use the aircraft to improve its offensive military capabilities. External reports claim that Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces’ Air Force may replace its current signal intelligence aircraft, a C130 Hercules and Falcon 20ECM, with the four G550’s.
In January 2018, the Spanish-language publication, Defensa, reported about the potential acquisition of the four aircraft. According to the article, “these airplanes would be used in ELINT [electronic intelligence] missions, capturing different radio frequencies used by terrestrial or aerial systems to determine their position, intercept them if they are not encrypted or locate their point of emission.”
Alongside the US and Saudi Arabia, Morocco has continued to strengthen its militaristic capabilities. In early July, the North African country announced that it is interested in purchasing two Italian naval frigates.
Read also: Morocco Plans to Acquire 2 Italian Multipurpose Frigates
By equipping its military on land, air, and sea, Morocco seeks to maintain its status as a “regional exporter of peace and stability,” as US Major General Michael Turley described in June 2021.
