Rabat – Morocco has received its first shipment of the Israeli Barak MX defense system, according to Pentagon documents that leaked earlier this year.
FAR Maroc, a forum specialized in reporting about the Moroccan military, said on Friday that the handoff of the Israeli system to Morocco started in mid-2023, signifying that the first shipments have already been received.
The delivery is part of a $500 million arms deal signed in February 2022 with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the manufacturers of the defense system.
The Barak MX is a flexible modular missile defense system that can protect against a range of aerial threats such as missiles and drones.
It includes three types of Barak interceptors, the first of which is the Barak-MRAD, a single-pulse rocket engine, which intercepts missiles up to a distance of 35 kilometers.
Barak-LRAD, the second type, is a dual-pulse rocket engine that can intercept missiles up to 70 kilometers, while the Barak-ER dual-pulse rocket engine with its additional booster can target a range of 150 kilometers.
The system also contains rader and various launchers to cover against all threats of aircraft, helicopters, drones, and all types of missiles.
The delivery comes as Morocco continues intensifying its cooperation on various fronts, including the military, with Israel.
In 2021, the North African country purchased the Skylock Dome anti-drone system from Israel, which specializes in detecting and neutralizing threats from unmanned vehicles.
The country has also acquired Heron drones, also manufactured by IAI, as well as IAI Bluebird units.
In 2022, the US remained Morocco’s largest arms supplier, with 76% of the Moroccan market, followed by France with 15%, and China with 6.8%.
