Falcon powers – Experts say that Morocco aims to develop its military industry, where the production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is much easier than producing tanks or armored vehicles, which require highly advanced manufacturing processes and infrastructure.
Morocco is expected to soon join the circle of African countries manufacturing military drones, which includes Egypt, South Africa, and Nigeria, according to the French newspaper Le Monde, citing the Israeli company “BlueBird Aero Systems,” which will soon begin operations in its production unit established in Morocco.
The drones to be manufactured in Morocco are the “ThunderB” and “WanderB,” according to the newspaper, citing Asher Fredman, the director of the Abraham Accords Institute for Peace in Israel. These drones will be dedicated to reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, and target detection.
Le Monde also mentioned that the “Spy-X” drone, apparently belonging to the category of suicide attack drones, can also be manufactured.
The price of the drones has not been disclosed, but the Emirati company “EDGE,” which was ranked by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in 2019 as one of the world’s top 25 arms-producing companies, offered 27,000 euros for a suicide attack drone last year.
The newspaper also stated that the drones in Morocco will be designed to counter Algerian military capabilities and preempt the operations of the Polisario Front fighters, supported by Algeria, who have been fighting in Western Sahara for several decades.
Morocco has strengthened its military cooperation with Israel since the normalization of relations between the two countries in December 2020, and Israel has become the third-largest exporter of weapons to the kingdom, after France.
