Israel Aerospace Industries will supply the Moroccan army with three types of Barak MX air and missile defense system interceptors. A $500 million deal.
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will supply the Moroccan army with the Barak MX air and missile defense system as part of a deal worth more than $500 million, Israeli media “Globes” tells us.
The Barak MX missile defense system is flexible and modular and can protect against a range of missile and unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) threats. The system handles three types of Barak family interceptors: Barak-MRAD, a single-shot rocket engine that intercepts missiles at ranges of 35 kilometers; Barak-LRAD, a dual-pulse rocket engine that intercepts missiles at ranges of 70 kilometers; and the Barak-ER double-pulse rocket engine, with a range of 150 kilometers.
Barak-MX is backed by radar and various launchers for the best coverage of fighter jets, helicopters, drones, cruise missiles, surface-to-air missiles and surface-to-surface missiles.
According to Israeli media, Morocco first learned about these and other systems when Defense Minister Benny Gantz visited the country in November 2021. During the visit, Gantz said signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on defense collaboration between the two countries, including such agreements.
According to defense sources quoted by the Globes media, Morocco discussed with Israel its needs, and the latter proposed several alternatives, including the Barak system, chosen because of its flexibility and its capabilities in various fields. According to the same Israeli media, the CEO of the IAI, Boaz Levy, secretly visited Morocco and presented the capabilities of the missile defense systems, and concluded the details of the agreement. The newly appointed president of the IAI, Amir Peretz, a Moroccan native and former Israeli deputy prime minister, was also deeply involved in the deal.
Morocco has already purchased Heron drones from the Israeli company IAI and other drones from the IAI Bluebird unit as well as robotic patrol vehicle systems from Elbit Systems and drone interceptors from Skylock. All of these purchases from Israeli companies were made through third parties. But after the signing of the Abraham accords and the agreements that accompany them, including the memorandum of understanding signed during Gantz’s visit, the purchases will now be made directly, concludes “Globes”.
