Rabat – Morocco and Israel have signed an agreement that would allow Rabat to purchase Israeli Harop drones.
The Israeli drones can carry 20 kilograms of explosives and they can also stay in the air for at least six hours, Israeli news outlet I24 News reported, adding that the new deal is part of Morocco’s determination to upgrade its military’s firepower.
Also known as Kamikaze and the suicide drones, Harop are known for many features — including their attack weapon system’s ability to locate and attack targets.
According to Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Israel’s major aerospace manufacturer, HAROP drones combine “characteristics of a missile and a UAV, HAROP” and are able to effectively execute missions “without relying on other external systems for targeting and mission intelligence.”
The news comes as the Chief-of-Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), General Aviv Kochavi, visits Morocco. Kochavi held meetings this week with several high level military officials in Rabat.
On July 19, Morocco’s Minister Delegate in charge of the National Defense Administration Abdellatif Loudyi hosted Kohavi to discuss advancing military cooperation between the two countries.
In the meeting, Loudyi reaffirmed Morocco’s commitment to boost security cooperation with Israel.
Also stressing his country’s determination to strengthen ties with Rabat, Kohavi commended Morocco’s important contribution and commitment to peace and stability in the MENA region.
Morocco and Israel have signed several far-reaching agreements since re-establishing diplomatic ties in December 2020.
On November 24, 2021, the two countries notably signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on defense as the Isaeli Minister of Defense Benny Gantz visited Morocco.
During the visit, the two countries signed the cooperation agreement that seeks to boost cooperation in the defense field.
Gantz’s visit signaled a new dawn in advanced security cooperation between Israel and Morocco, Israeli media reported, emphasizing that the defense MoU the Israeli minister signed with his Moroccan counterpart covers a project of manufacturing drones in Morocco.
