Morocco’s Billion-Dollar Israeli Arms Spree Reshapes Regional Defense

Two billion dollars. This is what Morocco has invested in the purchase of Israeli drones and defense systems. The kingdom "has made major acquisitions including the latest generation of drones and air defense systems for an amount close to two billion dollars," reports the Israeli daily Maariv, specifying that in 2024, Israel’s arms exports to the signatory countries of the Abraham Accords reached $14.8 billion, or about 12% of total military sales.

In late May, Morocco signed a new contract with Israel’s Elbit Systems to acquire armored turrets. These more powerful turrets will equip the WhAP armored vehicles. In February, Elbit had won the tender to supply 36 ATMOS 2000 self-propelled artillery systems, mounted on autonomous trucks, for an amount between 150 and 200 million euros (about 1.6 to 2.1 billion Moroccan dirhams), reported the French economic newspaper La Tribune.

Recently, Morocco has expressed interest in acquiring the Harpy and Harop suicide drones, produced by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). It is negotiating the purchase of 200 to 300 units of the Harpy and Harop loitering munitions for an estimated amount of $120 million. These Israeli drones have an operational range between 500 and 1,000 km.

These acquisitions follow the normalization of relations between Rabat and Tel Aviv in exchange for the American recognition of the Moroccanness of the Sahara, formalized in December 2020. Following the Abraham Accords, signed on September 15, 2020 in Washington on the lawns of the White House, Morocco concluded a separate tripartite agreement. Since then, the kingdom and Israel have been constantly strengthening their ties.