Morocco Expands Military Capabilities with New Drone Production Facility

Morocco is pursuing the modernization of its armaments. A new production unit will soon be built in Morocco as part of a cooperation with the Israeli company BlueBird Aero Systems. Manufacturing operations in Morocco will focus on the "ThunderB" and "WanderB" drones, designed to carry out reconnaissance, intelligence and target detection missions with high precision, reports the newspaper Le Monde, adding that it is not excluded that the Spy X drone, classified among kamikaze attack drones, will also be manufactured in the kingdom. Morocco has two essential components, one legal and the other industrial, having worked on the adoption and ratification of a legal arsenal concerning military manufacturing, whether through approved decrees or the conclusion of many agreements with different parties such as the United States and Israel, in order to cooperate and benefit from the expertise of these countries, explains the expert in international relations, Mohamed Chakir on the Al3omk website. In doing so, Morocco has paved the way for investment in this sector by the private or public sector, thus allowing the many financing necessary to realize this national industry requiring significant capital.

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The expert in international relations stressed that the kingdom is now a platform to attract several companies, particularly those manufacturing civil aviation parts. He cites the example of the Nouaceur hub, which has become one of the industrial hubs in this field that attracts American and European companies to set up there and manufacture parts for aircraft construction. According to him, Morocco’s industrial base in the automotive sector will facilitate the transition to the military industries, particularly the manufacture of fighter jets, thus allowing the kingdom to enter the world of these industries. Certainly, Morocco is not yet fully into the manufacture of military drones, but it is planned to start manufacturing these devices in the coming years, and to export them to various African countries, the expert believes. By embarking on the military industries, Morocco will be able to join not only the ranks of the countries manufacturing military drones, such as Egypt, South Africa and Nigeria, but it will also be an importer of military equipment.

Investors consider Morocco as a military manufacturing platform allowing them to open up to African countries, added Chakir. To support his point, he mentions the meeting between Moroccan and Nigerian officials, focused on training in the aviation field. "The military industries, particularly drones, represent a promising market in which Morocco can engage, due to its position and military expertise, being a gateway and a platform to Africa, thus attracting the interest of investors to use this platform to sell their weapons to African countries," the expert concluded.