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Morocco’s Royal Navy is preparing to acquire two aircraft specialized in maritime reconnaissance, anti-submarine warfare, and search and rescue on the high seas, Spanish military affairs website Defensa reported.
The report noted that the main potential suppliers for this contract include the ATR 72 MPA aircraft from the Italian group Leonardo, and the C295MPA from Airbus.
American companies, Boeing with its P-8 Poseidon and Lockheed Martin with its SC-130J Sea Hercules, are also in the running, according to Defensa. The website, however, believes that the chances of these proposals are reduced, explaining that the sharp price of Boeing’s offer could be a deterrent.
The news comes following reports of the German army acquiring five P-8 Poseidons in March 2021 for $1.77 billion, according to Defense Daily.
The Moroccan Royal Navy had already declined the SC-130J Sea Hercules patrol boat in 2016 during the purchase of two maritime reconnaissance aircraft. Morocco instead squired American group Raytheon’s subsidiary manufactured King Air 350ER in 2019.
European offers could benefit from the blocking of orders for the Royal Armed Forces in the US Congress, in addition to technical and financial considerations.
Morocco is laying its maritime policy in the Atlantic with a vision to foster its economy, with the North African country also aiming to secure exploitation of oil and mineral wealth located under sea waters.
Morocco has purchased a variety of state-of-the-art military equipment in recent years to bolster its Royal Armed Forces’ (FAR) operational capabilities in the face of escalating regional tensions and to extremist threats.
Read also: Morocco Considers Purchasing Israel’s Barak 8 Missiles
Morocco was reported in December, 2021, to have opened its first long-range air defense military facility near the town of Sidi Yahia el Gharb in the Rabat-Sale-Kenitra region.
According to Defensa, the facility houses a batch of Chinese-made long-range air defense system FD-2000B, which is one of the “four batteries” obtained by Morocco in 2017.
Morocco is also looking to improve its two largest air stations as it prepares to acquire a fleet of F-16 Block 72 fighter jets it ordered from the US in 2019.
