The United States is in the process of completing the sale of at least four MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones to Morocco, according to sources cited by Reuters.
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According to the sources cited by Reuters, the State Department has authorised the sale of the UAVs, however, there is no confirmation so far of approving their export.
The deal, which has been in works for several months according to these sources, needs the approval of the Congress before it is sealed. Even if the deal gets blocked by the Congress, which is very unlikely according to sources, Morocco scored a major diplomatic win out of the United States on 10 December as Washington recognised Morocco's sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region.
The timing of the drone sale to Morocco is conspicuously similar to that of the UAE as Morocco agreed with Isreal to normalise relations also on 10 December.
A similar deal was sealed with a $23 billion U.S. arms sale to the United Arab Emirates. The deal with UAE came in November after the UAE normalised its relations with Israel in a historic agreement signed on 15 September 2020.
MQ-9B SeaGuardian, made by General Atomics, can be configured with cross-domain capabilities for a vast range of maritime surveillance operations, including:
- Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW)
- Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW)
- HA/DR – Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief
- Search and Rescue
- Law Enforcement (Drug Trafficking, Illegal Immigration, Piracy
- OMSI – Oceanic Maritime Security Initiative)
- Airborne Counter Mine Capability (Developmental)
In October, the U.S. Secretary of Defence Mark Esper visited Morocco where he signed the new Roadmap for Defense Cooperation Between the United States and Morocco that will guide cooperation in a range of priority areas, which details cooperation in priority areas including enhancing Moroccan military capacity, deepening interoperability, boosting force readiness, and supporting Morocco’s role in maintaining regional security.
