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Rabat – US company L3Harris Technologies has announced securing a contract to upgrade Morocco’s F-16s firepower and mission flexibility.
Last week, the company issued a press release announcing a $29 million contract that will see L3Harris teams working to provide “smart weapon release systems” to Morocco, Jordan, and Bahrain.
Under the contract, the American company will make it possible for F16s to carry out “two smart weapons on each system instead of one.”
Commenting on the deal, L3Harris’s chief of Space and Airborne Systems Ed Zoiss said that the company’s release systems “provide extra offensive capabilities while giving commands the versatility to deploy the right firepower for every mission.”
The system also allows mission commanders to send the “right weapon at the right time” on target, he added.
The new service benefiting Morocco’s F-16 fleet is part of the country’s approach to enhancing its military’s operational capabilities to tackle traditional and emerging security threats.
Morocco’s latest state budget recently allocated $11 billion for military expenditures in 2023, indicating a near MAD 4 billion ($381.44 million) increase compared to the 2022 finance bill.
The North African country has been boosting its defense capabilities with major defense equipment purchases in the past few years.
Last year in November, Morocco’s military acquired Israel’s Skylock Dome System, a surveillance and monitoring system.
A ranking from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) recently put Morocco on the list of the top 40 largest importers of military equipment across the world. According to the institute, the North African country imports 90% of its weapons from the US.
Read Also: Morocco Sets Up Budget of Nearly $11 Billion for Defense in 2023
