The sale of Patriot Air Defence systems and G550 reconnaissance aircraft to Morocco has been confirmed by the U.S. International Trade Administration (ITA).
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This purchase is part of a comprehensive military modernisation plan carried out by Morocco in order to boost its military power in Africa. The details of the deal have not been revealed yet.
According to the Arms Trade Database of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Morocco has already acquired 36 second-hand M-106 mortar carrier vehicle, 346 M113 tracked APCs (Armored Personnel Carrier) and variants, 60 M109A5 155mm self-propelled howitzer, 469 M113A3 tracked APCs, 55 M-88 tracked armored recovery vehicles, and 162 M-1A1 Abrams main battle tanks over the past twenty years.
“Our permanent interest in the modernisation and equipment of your units stems from our constant desire to develop your defence capabilities and to provide you with the necessary means and equipment, according to a global and integrated plan for the next decade. We have given our high guidelines for the implementation of this Plan, which will make it possible to finalise what has been achieved over the last two decades, so that our Armed Forces remain the protective shield and the impassable rampart for the defence of the Nation and its sacred values,” King Mohammed VI said in an Order of the Day to the Royal Armed Forces last year.
The MIM-104 PATRIOT is a surface-to-air missile system (SAM) manufactured by the major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation Raytheon. This system is the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied nations (Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Japan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Taiwan, Greece, Spain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Romania.)
