Morocco Opts for US Patriot Missiles, Abandons Russian S400 Deal Amid Sanctions Threat

The threats from the United States will ultimately have prevailed over the initial choice that Morocco was about to make. Out of fear of economic retaliation, the kingdom will rather acquire for the benefit of its air defense system, models of the American "Patriot MIM-104" instead of the previously so desired Russian "S400".

According to this information relayed by the Spanish military news site Defensa, Morocco’s withdrawal is due to the kingdom’s fear of seeing the United States apply the GAATSA law against it. A law approved by a near-majority in the United States House of Representatives on June 25 last and which imposes economic sanctions on any country that concludes arms contracts with Russian companies.

According to Le360, the information published by the Spanish website in question, which is known to specialize in the arms markets, indicates Morocco’s desire to purchase the Russian S400 system, presented as a "very sophisticated air defense battery capable of intercepting air targets at a distance of 380 kilometers and ballistic targets at a distance of 60 kilometers".

For its part, the daily Al Massae notes that the Spanish website also stressed that Morocco’s about-face is motivated by the fear "of the repercussions of the war led by the Americans against most of the countries that have purchased the Russian system. This includes China, which has been subject to several sanctions, and Turkey, which has been barred from procuring the F35 fighter jets".

In the end, Morocco, which is ranked among the most important customers of the American arms industry, did not dare to leave the ship of loyalty. As proof, the kingdom has just signed the largest military transaction in its history with the United States, by "acquiring modern F16 fighter-bombers equipped with sophisticated equipment", observed Le360.